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Our America 



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FRANKLIN SERIES 




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Book_ 



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COPYRIGHT deposit. 



OUR AMERICA 



AND 



OUR CONSTITUTION 



BY 

Z. C. THORNBURG 

Des Moines University 
Des Moines, Iowa 



JAMES M. MANDEVILLE 

Washington School 
Detroit, Michigan 



KATHERINE McGUIRE 

Howe School 
Des Moines, Iowa 



For the 7th and 8th Grades 



HEARTNEY & COMPANY 

Publishers 

DES MOINES, IOWA 






Copyright 1922 

By 

HEARTNEY d COMPANY 



JAN -5 1922 
©CU653425 



PURPOSE 

This book comes as a response to the de- 
mand for a text book which will give to 
children of the Seventh and Eighth Grades 
some concrete problems which will help 
them to work out for themselves some idea 
of government. Every chapter in this book 
sets forth some such problems. 

At the beginning of each chapter will be 
found a quotation from the Declaration of 
Independence, the Ordinance of 1787, or 
the Constitution. We cannot teach citizen- 
ship without teaching the Constitution, 
neither can ive teach the Constitution with- 
out teaching citizenship. 

The "Suggestions for Dramatization" 
specifically set forth the purpose of this 
feature of the book and the use which may 
be made of this great possibility in educa- 
tion. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The authors desire to express their 
appreciation of the assistance rendered 
in the preparation of this text-book by 
Esse V. Hathaway, Joseph S. Hofer, 
Clarence B. Isaac, Albert W. Merrill, 
Eugenia A, Stuart, Laura Loehle Thorn- 
burg, Hubert Utterback, and Nellie G. 
Warren. 

Z. C. Thornburg 
James M. Mandeville 
Katherine McGuire 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter I. The Community 1 

Chapter II. Community Needs 6 

Chapter III. Towns and Cities 11 

Chapter IV. Citizens' Rights and Duties 15 

Chapter V. Necessity for Government 22 

Chapter VI. Declaration of Independence 29 

Chapter VII. Bill of Rights 39 

Chapter VIII. Nation of Immigrants 52 

Chapter IX. Health 62 

Chapter X. Building the Community 74 

Chapter XI. Social Life 80 

Chapter XII. Education 85 

Chapter XIII. Transportation and Communication 91 

Chapter XIV. Wealth 97 

Chapter XV. Voluntary Organizations in Industry 102 

Chapter XVI. Thrift 105 

Chapter XVII. Government Promotion and Protection . . . 115 

Chapter XVIII. Local Government 120 

Chapter XIX. Charities 124 

Chapter XX. Crime and Correction 127 

Chapter XXL How Our Laws Are Made 133 

Chapter XXII. Financial Powers of the Constitution .... 141 

Chapter XXIII. Party Government and Organization 146 

Chapter XXIV. Election Machinery 150 

Chapter XXV. The Woman Citizen. 154 

Chapter XXVI. State Constitutions 157 

Suggestions for Dramatization 161 

Bibliography and References 179 




FRANKLIN SERIES 



AMERICAN IDEALS 

Over seven hundred years ago a group of English- 
men demanded and received through the Magna 
Charta a voice in their government. Over five and 
a half centuries later, England so far forgot the 
principles voiced in that document as to attempt to 
deprive her American colonies of their rights of 
representation. With the fearlessness and strength 
of those who set loyalty to ideals above loyalty to 
blood, the Colonists arose in their strength, and de- 
claring their independence, set up their new govern- 
ment based on the very principle set forth in the old 
English Charter — the principle that all government 
derives its powers from the consent of the governed. 

Fortunately for the success of the new govern- 
ment, the men who drafted the Declaration and the 
Constitution that followed were men of trained 
minds. Still more fortunate for its success those 
that followed them were trained not only in mind, 
but had vision to see that freedom in the hands of 
an ignorant people may be a nation's undoing, and 
set up a sphere of broad education. Thus equipped, 
the new nation set about developing its people and 
its resources. 

While opening its doors practically to all the 
world it refused to share in the political problems 



of the Old World. It is just as impossible for a 
nation to live unto itself as for a man to do so. 
Today American youth know that to prove true to 
their inherited principle of free government, they 
must be ready to interpret that principle not only at 
home, but so far as their country's honor is involved, 
they must be ready to interpret international affairs 
with the same sympathetic fairness. That readiness 
depends entirely on the soundness of their prepara- 
tion for citizenship; their willingness to enter into 
that preparation depends on the soundness of their 
patriotism. The challenge rings out clearly and 
strongly. Surely no boy or girl in all of our broad 
land can fail to answer it. 

Esse V. Hathaway 



CHAPTER I 
THE COMMUNITY 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all 
men are created equal; that they are endowed by, 
their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that 
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- 
piness." — Declaration of Independence. 

It is the day of the annual football game between 
two rival schools. From every direction streams 
of people pour into the athletic field. For perhaps 
two hours these people think of almost nothing but 
the actions of the twenty-two players upon the field. 
Then they scatter to all parts of the city and to 
widely varying kinds of work and play. 

What brought these people together? Why did 
they all give attention to the same thing for a time ? 
Perhaps that evening many of them went to see mo- 
tion pictures. Do you suppose that all went to the 
same theater? Were there any at the theater who 
did not attend the game? Why? Will that same 
group of people ever be together again? 

When a number of people are interested in the 
same thing we say that they have a "common inter- 
est. " Try to think of a good many cases in which 
you have known groups of persons to show a common 
interest. In each case, how long did the common 
interest last? 

1 



2 Our America and Our Constitution 

Why do so many boys and girls attend this school? 
If they were given their choice, whether they should 
come or not, would most of them be here? Would 
they come day after day? Would others come if 
there were not other schools near? Why? Can you 
think of more than one reason for coming to school? 

If a group of persons have definite common inter- 
ests, especially when these interests are more or less 
permanent, we are apt to say they have a ' i commun- 
ity of interests. ' 9 They are likely to form some kind 
of organization. They usually adopt rules, choose 
officers, and hold meetings. Have you ever helped to 
form a society or club of any sort? What commun- 
ity of interests did the members have? Think of 
other groups that are organized. Can you think of 
some that are not? 

When people live within well defined boundaries 
and have a common meeting place they are consid- 
ered as having common interests and we refer to 
them as a community. Usually they live close to- 
gether because the interdependence of men not only 
makes it economical to live close together, but also 
leads them to desire the society of their fellows. 

As you drive along a country road you will notice 
that every now and then the houses are grouped to- 
gether, sometimes three or four, sometimes a dozen, 
sometimes a hundred or more. Such collections of 
dwellings tend to grow year by year. Why? In 



Our America and Our Constitution 3 

this way there develop hamlets, villages, towns, 
cities. 

Eemember that a crowd gathered on the street 
after an accident or to see a fire is not a commnnity. 
Why not? Might the audience at a football game 
be properly called a community? Are the " Fans' J 
at a baseball game a community? You ought to be 
able to name a number of communities of which you 
know. To some of them you belong. Make as long 
a list of these as you can. Some of them are parts 
of other communities. Some have members scat- 
tered among other communities. Is a neighborhood 
a community? 

There are persons who live almost entirely by 
themselves. Have you read Eobinson Crusoe? In 
what way did his life differ even from that of the 
loneliest pioneer in this country? Compare it with 
the life pictured in Swiss Family Robinson. In 
either of them are there signs of community life? 
Even in well-settled parts of the country we some- 
times find individuals who keep as far as possible 
away from all other people. Try to picture how 
such a hermit might live. Can he remain entirely 
free from having common interests with those about 
him? 

It must not be forgotten that the people of the 
sparsely-settled country form a community — what 
we call a rural community — with problems that are 



4 Our America and Our Constitution 

very real and very serious and perhaps more difficult 
of solution than the problems of other communities. 
The more closely-settled town or city presents dif- 
ferent problems which require different methods of 
solution. 

Common interests are not confined to people who 
live within a few miles of each other. The people of 
an entire state form a community just as truly as do 
the people of a town. In fact, because they have a 
community of interests that are very definite and 
very permanent, the people of the United States 
make up one community. We are beginning to real- 
ize that there is such a similarity of interests, prob- 
lems and feelings among all the various nations of 
the earth that we must recognize a world-wide com- 
munity of peoples of all races, in spite of their 
widely-differing languages and customs. 

The teaching of citizenship requires the study of 
all kinds of communities, the common interests 
which creates these communities, the problems which 
arise from community life, the methods, organiza- 
tions and government used in solving these prob- 
lems, and the part the individual must play in com- 
munity life. If we give most of our attention to the 
small community it is because it is the one you prob- 
ably know best and because it keeps you thinking 
about questions you are most likely to help work out. 

You are a citizen of many communities. All your 



Our America and Our Constitution 5 

life you will be a citizen. Nothing is more important 
than that yon maintain the correct relation to com- 
munity life. Your comfort, your happiness, your 
very life depends upon the work of your fellow men. 
Their comfort, happiness and existence depends upon 
you. 

Whether or not each individual member of the 
community does his share in carrying the common 
burden is the test of good citizenship. 



CHAPTER II 
COMMUNITY NEEDS 

"That, to secure these rights, governments are in- 
stituted among men, deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed." — Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. 

For many years the individual was taught to sub- 
scribe to the old well-known adage, ' ' Unto thy- 
self be true. ' ' Now the individual is learning to ac- 
cept another law, "Unto thy neighbor be true." An 
ordinary man is interested only in his own property. 
It is an extraordinary man who is ever thinking of 
the interest of his neighbor as well as himself. 

For ten long years Robinson Crusoe on his lonely 
island waited and prayed for a ship to take him back 
to his old community. His enforced home was rich 
in fruits, in flowers, in scenery, in valuable ore, and 
in food. One morning as. he climbed to the high cliff 
from whence he daily scanned the wide horizon in 
search of a passing ship, he stumbled over a stone; 
kicking it with his heavy boot he recognized what it 
was and in disgust mumbled, ' ' Only gold. ' ' In any 
ordinary community in America a stone of gold 
would cause the finder to shout for joy. Why? It is 
to community that gives value to any material ob- 
ject. Money and wealth are only valuable when they 
6 



Our America and Our Constitution 7 

are used in such a way as to contribute to the pleas- 
ure and welfare of individuals. 

The great advantage of community life is interde- 
pendence. We supply but few of our individual 
needs. Crusoe had plenty of food and shelter, he 
could go about the island as he pleased, but that was 
not what he desired, he longed for the group. We 
are free, independent, and happy only when we are 
with those whom we serve. 

Men become tyrants by centering all their thought 
and labor to their own glorification. Napoleon 
Bonaparte did this and when defeat overtook his 
army he was banished ito St. Helena where he lived 
alone. 

Emperor William II dreamed that he could make 
all the world serve his needs, but the community 
spirit of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy and 
America resisted with the sacrifice of untold financial 
outlay and millions of precious lives. You know the 
result. Might was not Right. Kaiser William was 
defeated and confined to a lonely Holland home, hav- 
ing f orfeitecl his right to associate even with his own 
countrymen. Why do men become tyrannical? Have 
you known a tryant? 

Our Constitution makes great provision for the 
welfare of the community. Congress annually ap- 
propriates vast sums that are expended for the bene- 
fit of the various localities under the domain of the 



8 Our America and Our Constitution 

Stars and Stripes. The Department of Agriculture 
directly serves those interested in agriculture. The 
Bureau of Chemistry inspects our food supply in 
public markets; it strives to keep poison from our 
bodies. The forest service rangers patrol the 
200,000,000 acres of valuable timber, both that of the 
government and the private owner. The weather 
bureau gives warning of sudden changes in tempera- 
ture and approaching storms, thereby saving from 
loss vast supplies of food in transit or perhaps still 
in the vineyard or on the tree. The Bureau of Ani- 
mal Husbandry examines without charge -the farm- 
er's cattle, horses, sheep, swine and poultry in order 
to eradicate tuberculosis and other diseases. It is 
estimated that in one year the value of eggs alone 
has increased $50,000,000 by reason of such service. 
When an animal is slaughtered in the packing house 
a trained inspector is ever present to 'throw out tu- 
bercular and other diseased meat. Perhaps you will 
be able to suggest other ways by which the Federal 
Government helps you. 

No man " lives unto himself alone.' ' He is de- 
pendent upon his neighbors for many of the neces- 
sities of existence. The city man is dependent upon 
his fellow citizens for good water, gas for cooking, 
electricity for lighting, telephone and telegraph serv- 
ice. The country man is dependent upon the rural 
mail and the telephone for his reports of the stock 



Our America and Our Constitution 9 

and grain market. Both of these men have gardens, 
but for only a few months in the year are they inde- 
pendent of the community grocery. An urgent call 
from loved ones far away makes both dependent 
upon the steam train. They need new clothing ; the 
rancher, the sheep, the woolen mill, the tailor, the 
silk worm, and the silk factory give to him these 
products. Both of these men decide to buy automo- 
biles and many brains and hands must make their 
contribution before a finished motor car can be de- 
livered. Much work must be done on the roads, 
streets, and bridges before they can ride in safety. 
Their homes are made comfortable through the use 
of furnaces, coal, furniture, rugs, china, silver, linens, 
and numerous other articles. Who is responsible for 
building roads and bridges in your county? 

Both men are desirous that their children grow up 
strong and live in healthy communities. To aid in 
this there must be city, county and state health regu- 
lations, physicians and hospitals. The church with 
its trained religious workers and leaders adds to the 
safety of their community. What other agencies 
contribute to the safety of the community? 

Law enforcement is essential for the protection of 
life and property. Increase of crime in the com- 
munity means an added danger to all citizens. When 
juvenile crimes increase, how may you be affected? 
How do public playgrounds and parks aid you? 



10 Our America and Our Constitution 

Philip Nolan in "A Man Without a Country' ' 
cursed America, his own land, and expressed the de- 
sire never to hear of the United States again. The 
judge pronounced sentence granting the wish : 1 1 Pris- 
oner, hear the sentence of the court. The court de- 
cides, subject to the approval of the President, that 
you never hear the name of the United States again. " 
For half a century Philip Nolan was a man without 
a country. Who was the author of " A Man Without 
a Country V 

Many years before, another man tried to dodge 
his responsibility toward his brother by saying, u Am 
I my brother's keeper V 9 The answer was a life-long 
brand upon his forehead. Since then a large part of 
the effort and thought of the world has been directed 
toward finding a real answer to this inquiry. For 
this reason hospitals are constructed, schools are 
maintained, and all philanthropic institutions receive 
approbation from real Americans. 



CHAPTER III 
TOWNS AND CITIES 

"No preference shall be given by any regulation 
of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state 
over those of another." — The Constitution. 

You have learned that naturally people live to- 
gether in communities. You have found that 
these communities have many needs. We are now 
ready to learn how these needs are supplied. 

United States history tells us that when the first 
colonists came to America they sailed along the coast 
until they found a harbor in which they could safely 
land. They "built their first settlements near these 
landing places. When other settlers came to America 
they built their homes nearby. Soon the landing 
place became a village, then a town, and as the set- 
tlement grew larger it became a city. Study in your 
geography how great seaport cities have grown up 
in this way. As the colonists pushed on into the 
region west of the Alleghanies other cities grew up 
along the trails. Each settlement had a town where 
the people could buy goods which were hauled from 
the seaboard in wagons, or floated along the rivers 
on rafts or boats. The building of steamboats, 
canals and railroads turned some of these towns into 
river ports, canal ports and railroad stations. 
11 



12 Our America and Our Constitution 

What effect would the proposed Great Lakes-St. 
Lawrence Canal have on the lake ports! How 
would it affect the Mississippi Valley region? How 
might it affect Atlantic seaboard cities? Name some 
cities which grew up as canal ports. As lake ports. 
As river ports. As railroad termini. 

The invention of the power loom, the cotton gin, 
and other power machinery led to the building up of 
towns depending on a single industry or related in- 
dustries. What cities today immediately make you 
think of the industry for which they are famous? 
Name some examples of cities which have grown up 
because rich mineral wealth was found near their 
sites. Name others which have prospered because 
of their abundant water power. 

The most important cause for the growth of 
smaller cities is the existence of great tracts of fer- 
tile soil. Most of our smaller cities and towns have 
grown up as distributing and trading points for the 
inhabitants of these regions. Agriculture is the one 
industry upon which all other industries depend for 
existence. Name some town or city which is de- 
pendent upon agriculture for its growth. 

When a community is settled the first needs are 
food, clothing, and shelter. Retail merchants come, 
schools and churches are opened, a newspaper is 
established, public buildings are erected. Railway, 
telegraph, and telephone service follows. Someone 



Our America and Our Constitution 13 

develops an industry, which requires many work- 
men. How could such a village grow into a big city? 
What are some factors which will determine whether 
it will grow or remain a village? Do you know of 
any village that may become a city? 

Take an ordinary village and see how it grows. 
Our first villages grew up along winding paths or 
trails. Others were built along the bank of a river 
or lake, or around a bay. Cities which have grown 
from villages of this kind have crooked or narrow 
streets. Another form of city is that laid out in 
square blocks, parallel to a railroad or a county road. 
Most midwestern and western cities are built in this 
way, because the country was surveyed and laid out 
into sections before the cities were founded. 

As the village grows, it becomes necessary to build 
sidewalks, pave the streets, provide sewers, water 
and gas mains. When cities grow large, streets are 
laid out radiating from the center to the outside, cut- 
ting through the crooked or right angled streets and 
across city blocks. People can then get into and out 
of the city much more quickly than by following the 
old streets. Why not test this for yourself? Take 
a map of a city and draw lines from the center to 
the outside. Observe the distance saved in getting 
into and out of the city. In cities and towns, people 
who are working or shopping must have places to 
park their automobiles. Determine what is done 



14 Our America and Our Constitution 

in your community to provide for this need. Find 
what larger cities are doing about it. How have 
some large cities solved the problem of street cars on 
congested avenues ? 

As the city grows, it becomes necessary to lay out 
"zones," or districts, in which only certain kinds of 
industries are permitted to operate. Why should a 
foundry not be located next to a hospital! A render- 
ing plant within the city limits ? Why should retail 
stores not be allowed to start in a residence block? 
Why should the city restrict the height of apart- 
ments and business buildings ? What is a city plan? 
Why is it desirable to have a city plan? 

When the population of a city grows large, the 
housing problem becomes acute. What are some of 
the evil conditions in slums? What can the com- 
munity do to remedy these conditions? Why are 
private wells and private sanitary systems forbidden 
in cities ? How are the gas and water mains, electric 
and telephone wires put out of the way in cities ? 



CHAPTER IV 
CITIZEN'S RIGHTS AND DUTIES 

"The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several 
states." — The Constitution. 

Resident 

Abesidext is a person who has lived in a com- 
munity for a specified period. In some states 
one must live six months in the state and sixty days 
in the county to become a resident of the state. What 
is the law in your state! 

Citizen 

A citizen is one who is born or naturalized in the 
United States. Our Constitution defines " citizen' ' 
as follows : "All persons born or naturalized in the 
United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof 
are citizens of the United States and of the state 
wherein they reside. ' ' Are all the children in your 
school citizens? 

Alien 

An alien is a foreign-born resident who has not 
been naturalized. 

Citizen by Bikth 

Everyone born in the United States is a citizen 
of the United States. Everyone born of American 
15 



16 Our America and Our Constitution 

parents living abroad or on the high seas is a citizen 
of the United States. When an alien is naturalized 
his children who are not twenty-one years of age be- 
come citizens. 

Naturalization 

Naturalization is the legal process by which a 
person may give up his citizenship in one country 
and become a citizen of another. Persons who be- 
come citizens of the United States by naturalization 
have all the rights of native-born citizens except the 
right to hold the office of President. 

"The Congress shall have the power to establish a 
uniform rule of naturalization. " An alien who de- 
sires to become a citizen must declare his intention to 
become a citizen of the United States, before the 
clerk of a court. He is given his "first papers" at 
this time. This insures him practically all the 
rights of full citizenship, including, in many states, 
the right to vote. He even has the right to take up a 
homestead. What rights has an alien in your state? 

Not less than two years after taking out his first 
papers, the alien may become a citizen. To do this 
he must have lived in this country five years and be 
able to speak and write the English language. He 
must renounce any title of nobility which he may 
bear. He must show that he is not a member of any 
organization which does not believe in government. 
He must show that he does not believe in polygamy. 



Our America and Our Constitution 17 

He must go before the judge of a court and take the 
oath of allegiance to the United States. In this oath 
he "entirely renounces all allegiance and fidelity to 
any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty. ' ' 
He solemnly swears that he has read the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and will support it against 
all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith 
and allegiance to the same. The judge may refuse 
to naturalize any alien whom he does not believe to 
be fit for citizenship. Frequently, since the world 
war, judges have refused to naturalize certain aliens 
because they claimed exemption from selective draft 
on the ground that they were citizens of another 
country. Why would such a man be an undesirable 
citizen? Who was Emma Goldman? Why did she 
leave America! 

Citizens by Marriage 

An alien woman who marries an American be- 
comes a citizen on her marriage. An American 
woman who marries an alien loses her citizenship on 
her marriage. 

By Treaty 

The inhabitants of any territory which is annexed 
to the United States by treaty become citizens upon 
the ratification of such treaty. Name several re- 
gions which have been annexed to the United States, 



18 Our America and Our Constitution 

Eights and Eules 

Every citizen of the United States enjoys certain 
rights; these are discussed in the chapter on the 
i i Bill of Eights. ' ' There are also many duties every 
citizen must perform. If the citizen ignores these 
duties or the rights of other citizens, what penalties 
does he face? 

Laws are made to protect the rights of all citizens. 
Every citizen must obey all the laws. Anyone who 
disobeys a law is taking away some of your rights. 
Is ignorance of a law a legal excuse? 

All citizens should know their rights and duties. 
Everyone should know the history of the country, 
especially how the Declaration of Independence, and 
the Constitution were made. They should know as 
much as possible of the national, state, and local 
government. They may learn many of these things 
from books, newspapers, magazines. They profit by 
studying the government of their own community. 
What have you learned about the government from 
magazines or newspapers? 

Intelligent Voting 

Before an election the voters should study the 
issues which are to be decided. They should investi- 
gate the candidates so as to determine which should 
be chosen. They should be sure to vote. Men or 
women who fail to vote have no reason to complain 



Our America and Our Constitution 19 

if they do not like the way government is conducted. 
Their votes are their rightful means of changing the 
government. How may voters find out about the is- 
sues in our elections 1 Did your parents vote at the 
last election? 

Our Government 

"We, the people,'' created our government. It is 
ours. By it we guard our rights and defend our- 
selves from our enemies, without and within. By it 
we seek to "promote the general welfare and secure 
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our poster- 
ity." The armed invader is not the most dangerous 
of these enemies. What group seeks to destroy all 
government? 

Respect eor Authority 

The constable, the justice of the peace, the town 
marshal, the postman, the fireman, the policeman, the 
judge, the city councilmen, the mayor, the county 
officials, the governor, the members of the legisla- 
ture, the president, his cabinet, the senators and con- 
gressmen, all are our representatives. We have 
charged them to enforce the laws which we have 
made, or to make other laws. Why should we respect 
their authority and see that all others do the same ? 

Taxes 

Taxes are levied to raise money to carry on the 
government. As you study the other chapters of 



20 Our America and Our Constitution 

this book you will discover many ways in which this 
money is spent for the good of the community. Why 
should every citizen pay his share willingly and 
cheerfully? How may he be informed as to the 
proper use of this money? 

Self Support 

All citizens should earn enough to support them- 
selves and their families. They should save part of 
their earnings and invest this money so they and 
their families will have something to live on when 
they can no longer work. 

Be Honest 

Government is necessary because some people are 
dishonest, some are deceitful, some pay no attention 
to the rights of others. Every citizen owes it to the 
community as well as to himself to be honest, truth- 
ful and considerate of others. This is one of the 
greatest duties a citizen can perform. Honesty is 
one of the secrets of a successful life. 

Defend Our Country 

You scarcely need to be told that every citizen 
should help to fight any enemy who makes war 
against us. But our most dangerous enemies are 
those who live among us, under the protection of our 
flag and our laws, and yet are trying to destroy our 
government. Learn enough about our government 



Our America and Our Constitution 21 

so that you can defend it when yon hear someone 
attack it. Use every means to help other citizens 
understand onr government, then they, too, will help 
defend it. 

Professional criminals are enemies of the govern- 
ment. They deliberately violate the law. Anyone 
who thoroughly or recklessly disregards the law is 
rebelling against the government. Every good citi- 
zen should rebuke such offenders, and, if necessary, 
have them punished for their disregard of the rights 
of the community. 

Education is the best means of defending our 
country against the enemies who live among us. 
Every child is required to go to school that he may 
become a good, law-abiding, intelligent citizen. A 
nation of such citizens is our country's best defense. 



CHAPTER V 

NECESSITY FOR GOVERNMENT 

"The United States shall guarantee to every state 
in this Union a republican form of government, and 
shall protect each of them against invasion; and on 
application of the legislature, or of the executive 
(when the legislature cannot be convened) , against 
domestic violence." — The Constitution. 

Sometimes people find fault with a law, an ordi- 
nance, or a rule in school. They think these 
prevent them from having the same degree of happi- 
ness that they could have if there were no such regu- 
lations. Some people are selfish and want every- 
thing, office, lands, and money, for themselves. Some 
are heartless, and do not care to help the sick, poor, 
crippled, and other unfortunates. Others are so 
cruel that they do not hesitate to run down people 
with an auto, or require their employees to work too 
long and hard, often in small, dark, foul rooms and 
factories. We often read of some greedy and in- 
human being who robs, or even kills, to gain what he 
wants. To restrain such individuals, so that right- 
thinking and right-acting people may live in peace 
and comfort, we make laws and elect officers to en- 
force them. 

The word government means the system of admin- 
istration by which the people of a nation, state, or 
other community, are controlled. This system in- 
22 



Our America and Our Constitution 23 

eludes, as government machinery, our laws, customs, 
and other agencies, among which we have the makers 
and enforcers of law, the courts, officers, and citizens. 
Have you ever helped to make a law or form a gov- 
ernment? A law is a rule of conduct made by the 
nation or state. When such a rule is made by a city 
council, we call it an ordinance. The supreme power 
by which all persons in a nation, state, or other com- 
munity are controlled, is called sovereignty. No one 
may make, interpret, or enforce any law in the 
United States unless authorized to do so by at least 
a majority vote of the authorized electors. This is 
what we mean in America when we say that our 
sovereignty resides in the people. 

A constitution is the fundamental law of a nation 
or state. Our national Constitution was made in 
1787, by a convention that met in Philadelphia. Since 
then we have found it necessary to add many amend- 
ments, which are as binding on the nation as if they 
had been a part of the original Constitution. From 
your history make a list of the officers and leading 
members of this convention. The original Constitu- 
tion and the amendments form a written constitution. 
By general consent and long custom each political 
party holds a national convention, and selects can- 
didates for offices to be filled at the next election. 
The presidential electors vote for the candidates of 
the party to which they belong. The president se- 



24 Our America and Our Constitution 

lects a cabinet to assist him in the execution of the 
laws. These customs and others similar to them, 
though not mentioned in the Constitution, are known 
as the unwritten constitution. 

In earliest times, one man in one way or another, 
secured the power to govern his nation. The form 
of government that permits one person to become 
the supreme ruler of a nation is called a monarchy. 
When this person may exercise his own will in every 
department of government, it is known as an abso- 
lute monarchy. When this person has only limited 
powers, because of constitutional provisions, the 
government is a limited monarchy. Monarchies are 
slowly giving way to other forms of government that 
give the people a greater part in managing their 
affairs. A few years ago all Europe, Asia, Africa, 
and half of North America were dotted with mon- 
archies, many of which have been displaced by a 
more representative form of government. What was 
the most prominent absolute monarchy to fall within 
recent years? What Mediterranean countries in 
northern Africa are still absolute monarchies ? What 
countries are good examples of limited monarchies? 

An oligarchy is a government in which supreme 
power is restricted to a few persons or families. 
These are regarded as superior to the others in the 
community. The Japanese permit those of an he- 
reditary caste or class to rule ; in China, before the 



Our America and Our Constitution 25 

days of the republic, only certain tribes were eligible 
to administer government. A country governed by 
a few individuals of high rank is called an aristo- 
cratic oligarchy. If only those who have reached a 
certain standard of education are permitted to take 
part in making and enforcing laws, the government 
is an educational oligarchy. An oligarchy based 
upon wealth means that only the wealthy have full 
power in carrying on the work of government. Think 
of the people who now hold office in your community, 
and determine if there is any ground to suspect that 
any of the classes mentioned above have more than 
their share of power. 

A government in which all the people within the 
community take part is a democracy. A pure democ- 
racy is a government in which all the voters meet in 
one assembly to conduct public affairs. Most coun- 
tries are too large to lend themselves to this form. 
Why? The little country of Andorra, between 
France and Spain, comprises 175 square miles, and 
has about 5,000 inhabitants. Do you think it might 
safely adopt a purely democratic form of govern- 
ment? Because it is difficult to administer a purely 
democratic form of government, citizens usually se- 
lect some person with authority to act for them, and 
have that person meet with the representatives of all 
other people in the community to transact public 
business. Such a government is called a representa- 



26 Our America and Our Constitution 

tive democracy or republic. Name the republics of 
the world. 

A country governed by the absolute power of an 
autocrat is an autocracy. One whose governmental 
functions are exercised by bureaus — committees cre- 
ated for certain particular purposes — is a bureauc- 
racy. Eussia was formerly a bureaucracy. How 
is Russia governed now? 

A confederation is a government in which there is 
a compact between a number of independent states 
all of which pledge to each other their mutual aid, 
protection or other desirable action. When states 
like those of the United States are joined by a per- 
manent act of union under a constitution, they form 
a federation. The people of Eevolutionary times 
formed themselves into a confederation. After a 
trial of almost ten years, they changed to a federa- 
tion. The preamble of our Constitution states very 
clearly the superiority of a federation over a con- 
federation. 

Our government is sometimes referred to as a fed- 
eral republic. This means that we are a federation 
having a central government with limited supremacy 
over the states, and that our government is admin- 
istered by officers elected by and representing the 
people. From the standpoint of permitting all of our 
people to assist in making and enforcing our laws, 
we are a democracy ; from the standpoint of permit- 



Our America and Our Constitution 27 

ting the people to select representatives with author- 
ity to administer our government, we are a republic. 

When our Constitution was adopted it was thought 
Lest to have the work done by three separate depart- 
ments, one to make the laws, another to enforce them, 
and a third to interpret them in case a dispute should 
arise. The department that makes the laws is known 
as the legislative department; it is also called the 
Congress. The department that enforces the laws is 
the executive department, the President. The law- 
interpreting department consists of the Supreme 
Court and inferior courts. Why do we refer to John 
Marshall as the interpreter of the Constitution? 

Each state has created a government for its own 
needs. The department of state governments are 
similar to those of the nation. We call the legisla- 
tive body the Legislature, or General Assembly, and 
the executive the Governor. 

The district court of the state meets at the county 
court house regularly to try persons who are charged 
with the violation of state or local laws. In towns 
and cities the enactment and enforcement of ordi- 
nances are left to the mayor and council. Country 
or rural folk have a township unit of government in 
which the people elect trustees to see that all local 
laws are enforced. Can you name your county offi- 
cers? Who comprise the legislative body in your 
community? 



28 Our America and Our Constitution 

The first community to which we belonged was oui 
home, where the government was planned and en- 
forced by our parents. Then we became members of 
a larger group, the school, for which the state has 
provided laws. Think of some things which you 
could enjoy were it not for the rules of your home 
and school. Is there much ground for a belief some- 
times expressed that parents and teachers make 
rules and regulations for the primary purpose of 
denying young people their happiness! What object 
have boys and girls when they give advice and direc- 
tion to smaller children at home or at school? 

Think of the immense cost and trouble involved hi 
governing this land. If everybody within the state 
would refrain from doing any illegal or wrong act, 
what effect would it have on the cost and number of 
government officials in your county and state ? When 
each person in the community governs himself so 
that he does what is best for all and never interferes 
with the rights of others, we shall enjoy the greatest 
amount of happiness. This is the ideal for which all 
homes, schools, and other communities strive. What 
can vou do to bring this about? 



CHAPTER VI 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

"This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; 
and all treaties made, or which shall be made, un- 
der the authority of the United States, shall be the 
supreme law of the land." — The Constitution. 

American history tells why the Declaration of In- 
dependence was made. The purpose of this 
chapter is to help you to understand what it means. 

Right of Independence 

"When in the course of human events it becomes 
necessary for the people to dissolve the political 
bands which have connected them with another, and 
to assume among the powers of the earth the sepa- 
rate and equal station to which the laws of nature 
and of nature's God entitled them, a decent respect 
to the opinions of mankind requires that they should 
declare the causes which impel them to the separa- 
tion.' ' 

Why was this paragraph written 1 Our forefathers 
were confident of the justice of their cause, and were 
willing to have all men know their purpose and the 
reason for it. 

Origin and Purpose of Government 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all 
29 



30 Our America and Our Constitution 

men are created equal, that they are endowed by 
their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that 
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- 
piness ; that to secure these rights, governments are 
instituted among men, deriving their just powers 
from the consent of the governed; that, whenever 
any form of government becomes destructive of these 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish 
it, and to institute a new government, laying its 
foundation on such principles, and organizing its 
powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely 
to effect their safety and happiness. " 

These sentences contain the great truths on which 
our government is founded. Commit them to mem- 
ory, and remember them whenever you hear anyone 
attack our government. When you study our Con- 
stitution you will find that means are provided for 
altering or abolishing our constitution, our govern- 
ment, or our laws, should a majority of the people 
desire to do so. 

Right to Change Government 

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments 
long established should not be changed for light and 
transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience 
hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, 
while evils are sufTerable, than to right themselves 
by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- 



Our America and Our Constitution 31 

tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpa- 
tions, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces 
a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, 
it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such 
government, and to provide new guards for their 
future security. Such has been the patient suffer- 
ance of these colonies ; and such is now the necessity 
which constrains them to alter their former system 
of government. The history of the present king of 
Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and 
usurpations, all having in direct object the establish- 
ment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To 
prove this let facts be submitted to a candid world. ' ' 
The colonies did not lightly throw aside an exist- 
ing government and rush into an experiment. They 
endured many severe wrongs, until they realized 
that the king was determined to destroy their liberty. 
Why did they feel that they ought to set up their 
own government? 

Legislative Powers Destroyed 

"He has refused his assent to laws, the most 
wholesome and necessary for the public good. 

"He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of 
immediate and pressing importance, unless sus- 
pended in their operation till his assent should be 
obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. 



32 Our America and Our Constitution 

1 'He has refused to pass other laws for the accom- 
modation of large districts of people, unless those 
people would relinquish the right of representation 
in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and 
formidable to tyrants only. 

"He has called together legislative bodies at places 
unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the reposi- 
tory of their public records for the sole purpose of 
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

"He has dissolved representative houses repeat- 
edly for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasion 
on the rights of the people. 

"He has refused for a long time, after such dis- 
solution, to cause others to be elected; whereby the 
legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have 
returned to the people at large for their exercise; 
the state remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all 
the dangers of invasion from without and convul- 
sions within. " 

The king prevented the colonists from exercising 
their legislative powers. He even obstructed the 
passage of laws by his own governors. By doing this 
he denied the colonies laws which were seriously 
needed. How was it evident that he desired to make 
the colonists dependent on his own will for all laws ? 

Further Injuries by the King 

"He has endeavored to prevent the population of 



Our America and Our Constitution 33 

these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws 
for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass 
others to encourage their migration hither, and rais- 
ing the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

"He has obstructed the administration of justice 
by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judici- 
ary powers. 

' ' He has made judges dependent on his will alone 
for the tenure of their offices and the amount and 
payment of their salaries. 

"He has erected a multitude of new offices, and 
sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people 
and eat out their substance. 

1 i He has kept among us, in time of peace, standing 
armies, without the consent of our legislatures. 

"He has affected to render the military indepen- 
dent of, and superior to, the civil power. 

"He has combined with others to subject us to a 
jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution and unac- 
knowledged by our laws, giving his assent to their 
acts of pretended legislation: 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops 
among us. 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from 
punishment for any murders which they should 
commit on the inhabitants of these states. 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the 
world. 



34 Our America and Our Constitution 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent. 
For depriving us, in many cases, of the bene- 
fits of trial by jury. 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried 
for pretended offences. 

For abolishing the free system of English 
laws in a neighboring province, establishing 
therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging 
its boundaries so as to render it at once an ex- 
ample and fit instrument for introducing the 
same absolute rule into these colonies. 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our 
most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally 
the forms of our government. 

For suspending our own legislature, and de- 
claring themselves invested with the power to 
legislate for us in all cases whatsoever." 
Why did the colonists desire to encourage immi- 
gration or to naturalize aliens ? Why did they desire 
to establish courts ? How did they suffer for lack of 
the right of trial by jury? Why did they desire trial 
in their own communities'? How had the king re- 
stricted trade! What happened when he took away 
the charters of the colonies? Why did the colonists 
object to the quartering of troops among them? Ask 
some World War veteran to tell you about the way 
American soldiers were sheltered abroad. When 



Our America and Our Constitution 35 

you study the bill of rights in the Constitution you 
will see how we have protected ourselves against 
these wrongs ever being committed again. 

He Has Waged War 

"He has abdicated government here by declaring 
us out of his protection, and waging war against us. 

"He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, 
burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our peo- 
ple. 

"He is at this time transporting large armies of 
foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, 
desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circum- 
stances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in 
the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
head of a civilized nation. 

"He has constrained our fellow citizens, taken 
captive on the high seas to bear arms against their 
country, to become the executioners of their friends 
and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

"He has incited domestic insurrections amongst 
us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants 
of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose 
known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruc- 
tion of all ages, sexes, and conditions." 

Why did the colonists say that the king actually 
declared war and in a most merciless manner waged 
war against them? 



36 Our America and Our Constitution 

Petitions Have Proven Useless 

"In every stage of these oppressions we have peti- 
tioned for redress in the most hnmble terms; our re- 
peated petitions have been answered only by re- 
peated injury. A prince, whose character is thus 
marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is 
unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

"Nor have we been wanting in attention to our 
British brethren. We have warned them from time 
to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an 
unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have re- 
minded them of the circumstances of our emigration 
and settlement here. We have appealed to their 
native justice and magnanimity, and we have con- 
jured them by the ties of our common kindred to dis- 
avow these usurpations, which would inevitably in- 
terrupt our connections and correspondence. They, 
too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of con- 
sanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the 
necessity which renounces our separation, and hold 
them, as we held the rest of mankind — enemies in 
war; in peace, friends.' ' 

Why had the colonists expected the English people 
to sympathize with them? 

The Declaration of Independence 

"We, therefore, the representatives of the United 
States of America, in general congress assembled, 



Our America and Our Constitution 37 

appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for 
the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and 
by the authority of the good people of these colonies, 
solemnly publish and declare that these united col- 
onies are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states; that they are absolved from all al- 
legiance to the British crown, and that all political 
connection between them and the state of Great 
Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and 
that as free and independent states, they have full 
power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, 
establish commerce, and do all other acts and things 
which independent states may of right do. And for 
the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance 
on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually 
pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our 
sacred honor.' ' 

The writers of the Declaration of Independence, 
without regard to creed, recognized God as the Cre- 
ator and Euler of the Universe. They recognized 
their dependence upon Him. They trusted in Him 
for the success of their struggle for freedom. 

This paragraph, in which the colonists declared 
their independence of the British crown, ought to be 
memorized by every man, woman, and child in Ajner- 
ica. Old fashioned Americans used to speak of learn- 
ing quotations "by heart.' ' They meant that they 
not only learned them and understood them but felt 



38 Our America and Our Constitution 

that they were true. Let us all learn "by heart" 
this passage of the Declaration of Independence. 



CHAPTER VII 
BILL OF EIGHTS 

"A T o title of nobility shall be granted by the 
United States." — The Constitution. 



••W 



Preamble 

e, the people of the United States, in order 
to form a more perfect union, establish 
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general welfare, and 
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our 
posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution 
for the United States of America." 

The people here exercised their power to estab- 
lish a government. Recall the paragraph of the 
Declaration of Independence which tells how gov- 
ernments are instituted. How are the purposes of 
government stated? Why was the Bill of Rights 
included in the first ten amendments rather than in 
the Constitution? 

Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 2. 

"The privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall 
not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion 
or invasion the public safety may require it." 

Have you ever read a story about someone who 
was kept in prison for years without knowing why 
39 



40 Our America and Our Constitution 

he was arrested ? Thousands of people have died of 
starvation, disease, or neglect in prisons without 
ever knowing why they were thrown into the dun- 
geon. The men who wrote the Constitution knew 
this. So they determined to prevent such an injus- 
tice in America. Anyone who is arrested or detained 
against his will may have a judge or a court issue 
a writ of habeas corpus. This is an order to the 
person who is detaining him to bring the prisoner 
into court at a certain time and place. "Writ" 
means a writing, or paper. "Habeas Corpus" is a 
Latin phrase which means "you may have the 
body." If the court finds there is no right to hold 
the prisoner, he must be set free. 

Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 3. 

"No Bill of Attainder or Ex Post Facto Law shall 
be passed." 

Many years ago, when a man was convicted of 
treason or certain other crimes his whole family was 
punished. Even his relatives were deprived of many 
of their rights. Their descendants were considered 
"tainted" because they were related to the criminal. 
A "Bill of Attainder" was a special law declaring 
this man and his family ' ' attainted. ' ' Do you think 
it was just to punish innocent people for a crime 
someone else had committed? 

Suppose a man were to plant a hedge. Afterward, 



Our America and Our Constitution 41 

in order to injure him, someone has a law passed 
which levies a fine of one thousand dollars for plant- 
ing any kind of a hedge. He has the fine imposed on 
the man who planted his hedge before the law was 
passed. That would be an ex post facto law. Do 
you see why the Constitution forbids the passage of 
such a law? 

Aeticle III, Section 2, Paragraph 3 

"The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Im- 
peachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall 
be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have 
been committed ; but when not committed within any 
State the Trial Shall be at such Place or Places as 
the Congress may by Law have directed. ' ' Why is 
the right of trial by jury important? Have your 
parents ever served on a jury? How are jurors 
selected in your state ? Why is the right to be tried 
in one's own community important? 

Article VI, Paragraph 3. 

"No religious test shall ever be required as a 
qualification to any office or public trust under the 
United States." Why was this provision made in 
the Constitution? 

Amendment I 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 



42 Our America and Our Constitution 

the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to as- 
semble, and to petition the government for a redress 
of grievances. " What is meant by an established 
church? Why should Congress not make any law 
respecting the freedom of speech! Of the press? 
Why should everyone be responsible for what he 
says and what he prints? May he be punished for 
speaking or printing anything tending to destroy the 
rights of other citizens, or the authority of the peo- 
ple? Why? Why is the right to assemble peaceably 
important? Have your parents ever signed a peti- 
tion to be sent to the President, or other govern- 
ment official? 

Amendment II 
"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the 
security of a free state, the right of the people to 
keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Why 
is the right to keep and bear arms important? 

Amendment III 

"No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 
in any house without the consent of the owner ; nor 
in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by 
law." What experience did the people of the col- 
onies have with the quartering of troops? 

Amendment IV 
1 ' The right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreason- 



Our America and Our Constitution 43 

able searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and 
no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, 
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched and the persons 
or things to be seized.' ' 

The king had allowed general warrants to be is- 
sued. These warrants allowed officers to arrest any- 
one or search any house they chose. Sometimes a 
man who disliked another person would get a general 
warrant; he would then arrest his enemy or have his 
house searched. The people thought that this was 
unjust. They determined that no one should be 
able to do it in the United States. Anyone who 
swears out a warrant on false grounds can be pun- 
ished. What must any officer do before he can search 
a house or arrest anyone suspected of violating a 
law? 

Amendment V 

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present- 
ment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases 
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, 
when in actual service in time of war and public 
danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the same 
offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life and limb; 
nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a 
witness against himself ; nor be deprived of life, lib- 



44 Our America and Our Constitution 

erty, or property, without due process of law; nor 
shall private property be taken for public use, with- 
out just compensation. ' ' 

Suppose some crime, such as robbery or murder, 
has been committed in your community. Someone 
has been accused of the crime. After a preliminary 
hearing he is bound over to the grand jury. That is, 
he is either released on bail or held in jail until the 
grand jury can meet and decide whether he shall be 
tried for the offense. The grand jury is made up 
of citizens chosen to serve for a certain time. They 
hear the charges and the evidence. If the evidence is 
sufficient he is held for trial. Evidence given before 
the grand jury is usually secret and is not made pub- 
lic unless the accused is indicted. Why may a man 
not be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense? 
Why may property not be taken for public use with- 
out due process of law? 

Once upon a time men and women who were ac- 
cused of crime were tortured to make them confess. 
Thousands of people confessed crimes that they had 
not committed in order to end 'their torture. Even 
in the days just before the Constitution was framed 
people were often compelled to answer questions 
which would prove they were guilty. The colonists 
wanted to give every man a chance for his life and 
liberty. They felt that it was unfair to force anyone 
to confess, even if he were guilty. They feared that 



Our America and Our Constitution 45 

the people might even be tortured, as they had been 
in the past. 

Many of the colonists had been imprisoned with- 
out a warrant having been issued for their arrest. 
Their property had been taken by public officers with- 
out authority and without payment being made for 
it. Others had been executed by the king's soldiers, 
or put to death without trial, so they determined that 
the government of the United States must protect 
them against their own officers committing such an 
injustice. 

Amendment VI 

"In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an 
impartial jury of the state and district wherein the 
crime shall have been previously ascertained by law, 
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the 
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- 
ing witnesses in his favor and to have the assistance 
of counsel for his defense.' ' 

Did you ever read of a man who was held in jail 
for many years without being tried? Why can this 
never happen in the United States ? Why may trials 
not be held in secret? Why must the prisoner be in- 
formed of the nature and cause of the charges 
against him? Why must all witnesses against him 



46 Our America and Our Constitution 

appear in court? What is done if the prisoner can 
not afford to hire a lawyer? What is a deposition? 
When can a deposition be used? 

Amendment VII 

' ' In suits at common law, where the value in con- 
troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by 
jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of 
the United States than according to the rules of com- 
mon law." 

Amendment VIII 

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish- 
ments inflicted." 

Bail is money or security deposited in the court 
when a prisoner is allowed to go home before he has 
been tried. If he does not return, the bail is for- 
feited to the state. If a large bail is required the 
prisoner may not be able to raise it and must remain 
in jail. How does this provision help the poor man? 
Why are excessive fines forbidden? What are the 
purposes of punishment? Why should torture and 
unusual punishments be prohibited? 

Amendment IX 
"The enumeration in the Constitution of certain 
rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
others retained by the people." 



Our America and Our Constitution 47 

Amendment X 

"The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, 
are reserved to the states respectively, or to the 
people. ' ' 

The people retain every right and power which 
they do not specifically give to the state or Federal 
Government through their constitutions. Name some 
power which is vested in the state rather than in the 
Federal Constitution. 

Amendment XI 

"The judicial power of the United States shall not 
be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, 
commenced or prosecuted against one of the United 
States by citizens of another state, nor by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign state." 

Amendment XIII 

Section One — "Neither slavery nor involuntary 
servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist 
within the United States, nor any place subject to 
their jurisdiction." 

Section Two — "Congress shall have power to en- 
force this article by appropriate legislation. ' ' 



48 Our America and Our Constitution 

Amendment XIV 

Section One — "All persons born or naturalized 
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the 
state wherein they reside. No state shall make or 
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges 
or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor 
shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or 
property, without due process of law; nor deny to 
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protec- 
tion of the laws." 

Section Two — "Representatives shall be appor- 
tioned among the several states according to their 
respective numbers, counting the whole number of 
persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. 
But when the right to vote at any election for the 
choice of electors for President and Vice-President 
of the United States, representatives in Congress, 
the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the 
members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any 
of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty- 
one years of age, and citizens of the United States, 
or in any way abridged, except for participation in 
rebellion, or other crime, -the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the 
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 



Our America and Our Constitution 49 

number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such state." 

Section Three — "No person shall be a senator, 
or representative in Congress, or elector of Presi- 
dent or Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or 
military, under the United States, or under any state 
who, having previously taken an oath, as a member 
of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or 
as a member of any state legislature, or an executive 
or judicial officer of any state, to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, shall have engaged in 
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given 
aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress 
may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove 
such disability." 

Section Pour — "The validity of the public debt 
of the United States, authorized by law, including 
debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties 
for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt 
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or re- 
bellion against the United States, or any claim for 
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such 
debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal 
and void." 



50 Our America and Our Constitution 

Section Five — " Congress shall have power to en- 
force, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of 
this article.' ' 

Amendment XV 

Section One — ' l The right of citizens of the United 
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the 
United States, or by any state on acconnt of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude.'' 

Section Two — "The Congress shall have power 
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. ' ' 

Amendment XVII 

"The Senate of the United States shall be com- 
posed of two senators from each state, elected by the 
people thereof, for six years ; and each senator shall 
have one vote. The electors in each state shall have 
the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the state legislatures. 

"When vacancies happen in the representation of 
any state in the senate, the executive authority of 
each state shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies ; Provided, that the legislature of any state 
may empower the executive thereof to make tem- 
porary appointment until the people fill the vacan- 
cies by election as the legislature may direct. 

"This amendment shall not be so construed as 
to affect the election or term of any senator chosen 
before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution." 



Our America and Our Constitution 51 

Amendment XVIII 

Section One — "After one year from the ratifica- 
tion of this article the manufacture, sale, or trans- 
portation of intoxicating liquors with the importa- 
tion thereof, or the exportation thereof, from the 
United States and all territory subject to the juris- 
diction thereof, for beverage purposes, is hereby 
prohibited. " 

Section Two — "The Congress and the several 
states shall have concurrent power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation." 

Section Three — ' ' This article shall be inoperative 
unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to 
the Constitution by the legislatures of the several 
states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven 
years from the date of the submission hereof to the 
states by the Congress." 

Amendment XIX 

' ' The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States 
or by any state on account of sex." 



CHAPTER VIII 
NATION OF IMMIGRANTS 

"The Congress shall have power to establish a 
uniform rule of naturalization." — The Constitution. 

As fak back as records exist, the history of man is 
the history of associations. The family, with its 
ties of blood, was, of course, the first of these to 
be formed. But members of a family had likes and 
dislikes independent of those growing out of kinship. 
These members sought and found response in mem- 
bers of other families, and so friendship came into 
existence. If these two attractions of kin and friend 
had been the only two to develop, the history of the 
world would have been a different one. In the 
struggle, however, to feed and shelter themselves the 
strongest soon found that he could satisfy his de- 
sires by using force against those weaker than he. 
Men attracted by his power gathered about him ; oth- 
ers formed in bands to oppose him and thus another 
bond, that of common defense or common welfare, 
came into being. With these common interests, 
groups, distinct in themselves, began to unite as 
tribes and clans. Within these groups, certain su- 
perstitions and religious beliefs sprang up, largely 
founded on the nature about them. In attempts to 
express their common desires and beliefs, common 
52 



Our America and Our Constitution 53 

symbols in speech and writing developed and grad- 
ually each tribe, or clan, came to have its own lan- 
guage. With the advance of civilization, these tribes 
and clans merged into nations, but no matter how 
large or powerful nations have become the same re- 
lationships have continued among the people. Even 
today the strength of the unity among any people 
is measured by the strength of (these world-old 
bonds of blood, of friendship, of language, of reli- 
gious beliefs, and of interest in common welfare. 

In spite of the tremendous power these ties have 
to hold people in the land of their birth, there are 
attractions which will overcome that power and lead 
individuals, families, and even large parts of a com- 
munity to seek entirely new lands. If these attrac- 
tions are lasting, people gradually drop the ties of 
the old land and through common interests form re- 
lations in the new country quite as loyal and endur- 
ing as those of the old. It can readily be seen, how- 
ever, that the new land or the land of choice must 
be one of extraordinary promise to cause men to 
break these associations. But if that promise 
reaches the ears and hearts of men, they will gen- 
erally follow. Whether the promise is realized de- 
pends in part on their own ability and will to enter 
into the life of the new land ; and in part on the re- 
sponsibility the new land assumes toward them. 



54 Our America and Our Constitution 

America, from the very day of its discovery, has 
been a land of opportunity to the people of the old 
world. Just as soon as they grasped fully that the 
new Continent existed they began to build upon its 
possibilities. To some, these possibilities brought 
dreams of gay and reckless adventure ; to some, pos- 
session of home and land ; to others, a right to wor- 
ship as they saw fit ; and hand in hand with that last 
dream came one of a government of greater freedom. 
As one after another of these dreams came true, 
friends followed friends, while poverty, unhappiness 
at home, and dissatisfaction with government caused 
others to try their fortunes where so many had found 
prosperity and content. 

As the young American nation grew sturdily in 
its power to maintain a government based on the 
equal rights of every man to "life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness,' ' it grew in its power to at- 
tract people of other nations. In the same quarter 
of a century that the United States established her 
independence and formed her Constitution, the 
French people rebelled against the oppression of 
their government. The French Eevolution followed, 
and close on its heels the wars of Napoleon swept 
western Europe. Not long after, Central Europe 
was thrown into confusion by revolutions in Ger- 
many. America, energetic, successful, and far re- 



Our America and Our Constitution 55 

moved from these conflicts seemed more than ever 
a refnge 'to the people of the old world. Naturally 
enough, perhaps, this tide set out from northern and 
western Europe, from the countries that had had a 
hand in the colonization of America, and whose peo- 
ple were therefore somewhat familiar with its re- 
sources. From 1825 to 1890, Great Britain, Ger- 
many, Norway, Sweden, France, Denmark, Belgium, 
Holland and Switzerland saw their people leave in 
great numbers to seek homes and lands in our coun- 
try. Practically all of them came from rural dis- 
tricts, farmers, miners, and a few fishermen, who 
traveled straight to our middle and northwest, where 
farms were plentiful and cheap. Practically all of 
them had some education, and were skilled in the 
occupation they followed. Coming from lands of 
liberal government, they were accustomed to sharing 
in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. 
Honest, industrious, strong in body and mind, they 
came to stay. In fact, it is claimed that only about 
six out of a hundred returned to their old homes to 
live, and practically everyone became a citizen of 
the United States as soon as the law would permit. 
Looking back over the nations represented in this 
"old" immigration, as it is called, we can see that 
those who came did not have to establish all new 
bonds of association in order to take on their new 



56 Our America and Our Constitution 

nationality. Those from Great Britain found their 
mother tongue the tongue of the new land. Many of 
the others joined groups where their native language 
was still largely spoken, and were able <to learn Eng- 
lish gradually without being seriously handicapped 
by the lack of it. In nearly all instances the people 
of one nationality gathered in one community. Nat- 
urally this tended to keep up the old associations and 
to set them somewhat apart. As has been said, how- 
ever, they came for the most part from countries 
where they had been accustomed to having a voice 
in the government and so they took up quite readily 
their general duties as American citizens. This tie 
of common responsibility together with the common 
training of our public schools offset the claims of 
the home land, until today, we have no more loyal 
citizenship than that formed by the ' ' old ' ' immigra- 
tion. 

But shortly after 1890, a change began to be ap- 
parent in the general character of our foreign born. 
The "old" began to decrease as cheap farm lands 
grew less. At (the same time what is known as the 
"new" immigration set out from Southern Europe, 
■ — from Italy, Greece, and the Slavic countries, and 
from that time until today has poured steadily into 
our ports, until the characteristics of these nations 
dominate our present foreign element. These peo- 
ple, too, come largely from rural districts. Instead, 



Our America and Our Constitution 57 

however, of coming to America to seek new farming 
opportunities, they fUock to our crowded industrial 
centers, and, about four out of five, enter any line of 
labor open to unskilled workmen. To them the at- 
traction of America lies chiefly in the opportunity to 
earn money quickly. Only about a fourth bring their 
families with them, and over a third go back after 
they have saved enough to pay their passage, or to 
live comfortably in the old country. They are hard- 
working, will accept the most disagreeable labor, and 
are content with a lower wage than the average 
American laborer. Because of their scant income 
and their desire to save, they huddle together in (the 
worst districts of our cities where living is cheaper, 
or out in box cars or camps where they exist with 
only the barest necessities. Coming from lands 
where free schools are unknown, handicapped by 
poverty, by lack of industrial training or experience, 
they are still further hindered by being natives of 
countries where the common man has no voice in the 
affairs of government. It can readily be seen that 
the proportion of them who become citizens of the 
United States is very small. Where members of the 
"old" immigration could and did enter quickly and 
fully into our national life, the members of the 
"new" have much farther to go before they are 
ready to enter. 



58 Our America and Our Constitution 

These two periods of immigration, so totally dif- 
ferent within themselves, have been equally different 
in their effects upon our industrial, social, and polit- 
ical life. The people of the first came at a time when 
our western farm lands were being opened for settle- 
ment. They desired an agricultural life and because 
of the abundance of room they followed their desires 
without contesting the rights of our own people. Be- 
cause they found this opportunity and because they 
understood us and our ways, they allied themselves 
with us, and as a whole have strengthened and sup- 
ported our social and political life. On the other 
hand, the alien from Southern Europe has always 
been a bone of contention in our industrial world, 
because the American working man claims he lowers 
the wage scale and crowds out our native laborers. 
Despite this objection, many claim we owe much of 
our present industrial prosperity to this cheap, un- 
skilled, workman. To prove this they point to the 
fact that while thirty years ago we were looked upon 
as an agricultural country, today, we are one of the 
leading industrial countries of the world. Over six 
million Southern Europeans came into our industrial 
plants in the first 'ten years of this century. About 
the same time the invention of new machinery and 
improvement of old was creating a revolution in our 
factories, and it was found that these unskilled for- 



Our America and Our Constitution 59 

eigners could quickly learn to operate this machinery 
and would produce much more for far less money 
than the skilled American workman. 

It is too early to judge fairly of the permanent 
social and political effects of the coming of these 
new people. So long as they remain illiterate, aloof, 
content with their low standards of living, and in- 
different to the value of becoming citizens, they are 
not a desirable part of our national life. When, how- 
ever, <they attempt to respond to our ideals, especial- 
ly when the second generation enters our schools, 
they bring a new spirit into our national life, a spirit 
of warm sensitive loyalty, full of dramatic power of 
expression. 

It can readily be seen that no matter how much of 
good immigration may bring into our national life 
there must always be some objectionable features. 
Some of these have so threatened our welfare that it 
has been necessary for Congress to pass laws to pro- 
tect our interests. Investigation has proved, for in- 
stance, that only one-half of the crimes committed 
within our borders are committed by native-born 
Americans. It was found, also, as far back as 1890, 
that forty percent of people receiving public aid were 
immigrants. As ignorance, poverty, and disease are 
three leading enemies of social progress, it is natural 
and necessary for people to defend themselves 



60 Our America and Our Constitution 

against them. Congress, therefore, has passed laws 
forbidding, first, the entrance of all illiterates over 
sixteen, except wives or dependent parents, and sec- 
ond, the entrance of convicts or persons, who, 
through disease or mental weakness, are likely to be- 
come public charges. In addition to these restric- 
tions, many others growing out of our labor difficul- 
ties have been proposed, and two laws have been en- 
acted. The first of these forbids the admittance of 
any laborers who come under contract to work for 
specified American manufacturers. The second, ex- 
cludes Chinese and other laborers from the far East. 
These four laws make it possible to eliminate unde- 
sirable immigrants, but have had but little effect in 
reducing the numbers who flock to our shores each 
year. During the World War, and since, America 
has had need of all her resources for the people with- 
in her borders. After much discussion, a law has 
been passed permitting the entrance of only three 
percent of the number of foreigners from any coun- 
try enumerated by our census of 1910. Even with' 
this small percent, over 70,000 foreign born may 
enter our ports each month of the year, — surely a 
goodly number for even our broad land to take 
care of. 

But since we are a Nation of Immigrants we shall 
probably always be making new ties with alien peo- 



Our America and Our Constitution 61 

pie, just as we have in the past. Sometimes we shall 
wonder, just as we have in the past, whether we are 
wise in opening our doors so wide. But no matter 
how many come, or how much we question itheir com- 
ing, once they are here, they must become part of us. 
What is the first form of human association? The 
second? What common bonds sprang up among -peo- 
ple not related by blood? What induces people to 
come to America ? What is meant by the ' ' old immi- 
gration ? ' ' When did the character of our immigra- 
tion begin to change ? What are some characteristics 
of the ' ' new ' ' immigration ? Why have laws restrict- 
ing immigration been passed? What are some of 
these restrictions? 



CHAPTER IX 

HEALTH 

"After one year from the ratification of this article 
the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxi- 
cating liquors within, the importation thereof into, 
or the exportation thereof from the United States 
and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
for beverage purposes, is hereby prohibited." — The 
Constitution. 

Djring the World War period the young men of 
our country were obliged to appear before the 
various draft boards for a thorough physical exam- 
ination. When they were weighed in the balance of 
physical fitness and found wanting, not only they, 
but their fathers, mothers, teachers, and the entire 
nation were also "weighed and found wanting. ' ' One 
out of every two examined had some physical defect, 
and one out of every three was so incapacitated he 
had to be sent home, deprived of his birthright, the 
honor of defending his flag and his country in the 
hour of need and peril. The draft figures told us that 
82,000 of our young men had tuberculosis, 28,000 
were ruptured and 177,450 were flat footed. 

The draft called our young men during the period 
of their lives when strength and vigor are greatest, 
yet the half who were handicapped had physical de- 
fects which might have been prevented and con- 
trolled in childhood. What are some ways in which 
62 



Our America and Our Constitution 63 

this could have been done? The physician with a 
real vision now realizes that his greatest joy, duty, 
and opportunity is not only to make sick people well, 
but to keep them well. Health is the birthright of 
every child born under the Stars and Stripes. 

Statistics show that about one-half of all children 
die before reaching the age of five, and that half of 
all deaths occur before the age of 23. The United 
States has been complacently permitting 250,000 
babies to die annually, but finally a program of 
health education has been inaugurated through 
"Save the Babies' ' campaigns, and in one year, 
through this propaganda, more than 12,000 babies 
have been saved to their parents and the nation. 

During the past twenty years, the average age at 
death has been increased from thirty-seven to forty- 
two years, and the death rate has been reduced from 
17.6 to 14.2 per cent. The death rate from tubercu- 
losis during the same period has been decreased from 
201 persons for each 100,000, to 122 per 100,000. 
What is the annual saving in lives on the basis of 
these figures. 

During each year there are 1,600,000 deaths in 
the United States, of which 40 per cent, or 670,000, 
could have been prevented through proper health 
education. If the annual earning capacity of the 



64 Our America and Our Constitution 

average citizen of the United States is $2,000, this 
is a loss of $1,340,000,000 annually to onr nation. 

What are some ways in which the lives of babies 
can be saved! Why should children in the schools 
learn how the community can decrease infant mor- 
tality? 

Though we love our America, we blush with shame 
that the United States loses one in ten of all babies 
born, within the first year after their birth. It ranks 
eleventh among the principal countries of the world 
in the loss of babies. New Zealand loses fewer 
babies than any other country, Norway is next, then 
Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, England 
and Wales, Switzerland, Denmark, Scotland, and 
eleventh, United States. France rarks twelfth, Italy 
fourteenth, Japan sixteenth, Germany eighteenth. 

City children average better health than country 
children. According to Doctor Wood, country chil- 
dren average 15.22 per cent more teeth defects, 11.72 
per cent more bad tonsils, 10.9 per cent more ade- 
noids, 7.6 per cent more eye defects, 8.9 per cent more 
mal-nutrition, 3.7 per cent more enlarged glands, 3.5 
per cent more ear defects and 2.11 per cent more 
breathing defects. Why should children in the coun- 
try be healthier than children in the city? Why are 
children in 'the city healthier than children in the 
country? 



Our America and Our Constitution 65 

Reliable authorities of today tell us that one out 
of every five school children is under-nourished and 
under-weight. Today we have an army of under- 
nourished children in a land of plenty. Only 3 per 
cent of mal-nutrition is caused by poverty ; the other 
97 per cent is caused mostly by lack of health educa- 
tion. 

Three million school children go to school with- 
out breakfast. Poverty is by no means the chief 
cause ; the child who has no appetite for breakfast 
is usually suffering from eye strain, nose or throat 
trouble, and should be given a careful physical exam- 
ination. The child who goes to school without his 
breakfast is drawing dangerously upon his "bank 
account." An engine cannot be run without fuel, 
nor an automobile without gas ; neither can the body 
be run without food. 

The child with nose trouble, the mouth breather, 
is usually under-weight and cannot be brought up to 
par until his nose is relieved. In most of the nutri- 
tion clinics mouth breathers are barred, because 
nothing can be done for -them until their noses are in 
proper condition to permit air to pass freely to the 
lungs. 

The child with a bad temper is usually under- 
weight, because rage, anger, and jealousy tend to 
loosen the poisonous fluids of the body. A fit of 
temper may cause a real case of poisoning. The 



66 Our America and Our Constitution 

timid child is usually under-weight because fear de- 
stroys tissue, especially kidney tissue. Children 
who "boss the home" are usually under-weight. 
Doctor Emerson, the nutrition expert, says it is hard 
on the American child to boss the home, and that in 
his nutrition clinics many children quickly gain 
weight without other aid than relief from this re- 
sponsibility. Every child and every parent in -the 
United States should know the five generally ac- 
cepted causes for under-weight children : 1. Physical 
defects (bad tonsils, adenoids). 2. Lack of home con- 
trol (bossing the home). 3. Faulty food habits. 4. 
Faulty health habits. 5. Over-fatigue. Every child 
should have plenty of sleep. Under-slept children 
lack resistance to disease, and cause 90 per cent of 
the cases of school discipline. Every child should 
be taught to control his temper. Noted brain experts 
say that 90 per cent of all cases of insanity have his- 
tories traceable to a childhood which indulged in fits 
of temper, violent quarrels, rages, and jealousies. 

Should children go to school without their break- 
fast! Give some reasons why children should learn 
to control their tempers ; their feelings. Why should 
they learn to overcome fear ? How many hours sleep 
should children get? How can you be certain you 
are physically up to par? 



Our America and Our Constitution 



67 



Table of Average Weight of Children According 
to Height 



BOYS 



GIRLS 



Height 
Inches 
35 


Weight for 
Height 
Pounds 

32.0 

33.5 

34.5 


Height 
Inches 

35 


Weight for 
Height 
Pounds 
31.0 


36 


36 


32.5 


37 


37 


33,5 


38 


36.0 


38 


35.0 


39 


37.5 

39.0 


39 


36.5 


40 


40 


38.0 


41 


40.5 

42.0 

43.5 


41 


39.5 


42 


42 


41.0 


43 


43 


43.0 


44 


45.5 

46.5 

49.5 


44 


44.5 


45 

46 


45 

46 


46.5 

48.5 


47 


; 51.5 


47 ... 


. . 51.0 


48 


53.5 


48 


53.5 


49 




49 


55.5 


50 

51 


59.5 

63.0 


50 

51 


58.5 

61.0 


52 


66.0 


52 ...... 


64.0 


53 


69.0 


53 

54 


67.5 


54 


72.0 


71.0 


55 


75.5 


55 


75.0 


56 


79.5 


56 


78.5 


57 


83.5 


57 


83.0 


58 


87.5 


58 


87.0 


59 


91.5 


59 


91.5 


60 


•. . 95.0 


60 


96.5 


61 


99.9 


61 


102.5 


62 


105.0 


62 

63 


110.5 


63 


109.5 


116.0 


64 


116.0 






65 

erj 


125.0 

134.0 




67 


138.5 





A child habitually 7 per cent below weight for 
height is on the danger line, a candidate for disease, 
and physically retarded one year. Some under- 
weight children receive the best marks in school, but 



68 Our America and Our Constitution 

in la)ter life pay the penalty for this overtaxing of 
physical strength. The child who is habitually un- 
der-sized, and below normal, will be under-sized and 
below normal all his life, unless the causes for this 
condition are removed. Children with " winged 
shoulder blades" are pale and under-sized. They 
usually lack appetite, eat improper foods, and eat 
too fast. 

Can the small boy who is habitually under-weight 
hope ever to be captain of the football team? Can 
the girl with the puny body hope to compete with 
her rosy, healthy companions ? What can be done to 
help them? 

It has taken many parents a long time to learn 
that milk is the one perfect food for children. Two 
cups a day are needed to supply lime for the teeth 
alone. Milk is easily digested, it contains the vital 
elements, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and water. A 
quart of milk contains 628 calories. Boys and girls 
12 to 18 years old should drink at least three pints 
a day. What is done to help children get enough 
milk? 

Today we read much of "calories." This term is 
used as the name of ithe unit by which the value of 
foods may be computed and compared. A calorie 
designates the amount of heat required to raise the 
temperature of one gram of water one degree, and 
is used in relation to food values, because the qual- 



Our America and Our Constitution 69 

ity of food is determined by the amount of heat or 
energy which the body can appropriate. 

A fourteen year old boy or girl actually requires 
as much food as a full grown man employed in phys- 
ical labor. The reason is that in childhood there is 
a great storage of materials in the body which is ab- 
solutely necessary in the processes of growth. A 
one year old child requires from 1,000 to 1,200 cal- 
ories per day; ten to thirteen year old children re- 
quire approximately 1,800 to 2,200 per day ; fourteen 
to seventeen year old girls require 2,200 to 2,600 cal- 
ories per day; fourteen to seventeen year old boys 
require 2,500 to 3,500 per day. 

The following are foods commonly known as 100 
calorie foods : a slice of bacon, one full slice of bread, 
one egg 7 one pat of butter, cup of skimmed milk, four 
heaping tablespoons of oatmeal, two ounces of 
cream, one apple, one orange. Children up to four- 
teen years of age, habitually under-weight, require 
3,000 calories daily. How many calories did you get 
from your breakfast? Your lunch? 

"Health is wealth." "Health is moral work." 
Many children who were on the road to life-long ill 
health have become strong and healthy through the 
use of the Modern Health Crusade Chores. These 
chores carry with them the elements of play ro- 
mance. To become a modern Health Crusader with 
the title of Page, fifty-four chores must be done in 



70 Our America and Our Constitution 

two weeks; to become a Squire, fifty-four chores 
must be done in each of the three weeks after being 
a Page ; to become a Knight, fifty-four chores must 
be performed in each of the five weeks after becom- 
ing a Squire. 

The following are the modern Health Crusade 
Chores of the National Tuberculosis Association: 

1. I washed my hands before each meal, today. 

2. I washed not only my face but my ears and 
neck, and I cleaned my fingernails, to-day. 

3. I kept fingers, pencils, and everything likely to 
be unclean or injurious, out of my mouth and nose, 
to-day. 

4. I brushed my teeth thoroughly after breakfast 
and after the evening meal, to-day. 

5. I took ten or more slow, deep breaths of fresh 
air, to-day. I was careful to protect others if I spit, 
coughed, or sneezed. 

6. I played out doors, or with windows open, more 
than thirty minutes, to-day. 

7. I was in bed ten hours or more, last night, and 
kept my windows open. 

8. I drank four glasses of water, including a drink 
before each meal, and drank no tea, coffee, or other 
injurious drinks, to-day. 

9. I tried to eat only wholesome food and to eat 
slowly. I went to toilet at regular times. 

10. I tried, to-day, to sit up and stand up straight ; 



Our America and Our Constitution 71 

to keep neat and clean-minded ; and to be helpful to 
others. 

11. I took a full bath on each of the days of the 
week that are checked, (twice a week expected). 

The observance of simple health habits is impor- 
tant. Every person should be taught to sneeze in 
his handkerchief, or at least to "duck" if there is 
not time to get a handkerchief, in order not to infect 
others with the spray from the nose and throat. 
Every person with a bad cold should be isolated from 
the rest of the family, or at least remember that 
"striking distance of contagion is arm's length," 
and that no honorable person will distribute disease 
germs. Every person should drink plenty of water. 
There is much truth in the saying, "two quarts of 
water a day will keep the doctor away." No child, 
sick or well, should ever sleep in a room with closed 
windows; impure air is one of the chief causes of 
colds. The common drinking cup is a great distrib- 
utor of disease germs. 

Is your body a good investment? The courts of 
the United States have decreed a boy's eyes to be 
worth $ 4,000 
his ears 4,000 
his legs 2,000 
his arms 2,000 
his hands 1,000 

$13,000 



72 Our America and Our Constitution 

Are you taking care of your $13,000 business? 
How much is your health worth ? Why were the an- 
cient Greeks noted for their perfect bodies and their 
feats of physical endurance? 

No child should unnecessarily be exposed to any 
disease, mild or otherwise. Much of the ill health 
of our soldiers was traceable to depletion in child- 
hood through whooping cough or measles. Measles 
cause about 8,000 deaths a year. They leave so many 
ills in their wake that the best of care should be 
given the child during the entire period, and for 
weeks following. Measles cause three times as many 
deaths as scarlet fever, and two-thirds as many as 
diphtheria. Whooping cough causes over 13,000 
deaths a year ; tuberculosis is a frequent follower of 
whooping cough. No honorable child with whoop- 
ing cough will play with well children. 

Someone asked Luther Burbank, "What is the fu- 
ture of the cigarette smoker ? ' 9 He replied, i ' Do not 
be worried, he has no future." The prize fighter, 
the wrestler, the football player, is not permitted 
to use cigarettes because of the detrimental effect 
upon his body. The boy who begins early to smoke 
has little chance of ever becoming the football cap- 
tain, or even making the team. If tobacco does not 
hurt a boy, why is it that athletes in training for 
contests are obliged to abstain from all forms of 



Our America and Our Constitution 73 

tobacco? Accurate scientific tests have proved that 
the boy or young man using tobacco is less steady, 
less alert, and has less endurance. Recently a sur- 
vey was made in a number of colleges and universi- 
ties to ascertain what effect, if any, smoking had on 
athletic fitness. Doctor Peck, of the University of 
Utah, gathered this data from twelve colleges and 
universities in all parts of the United States : A total 
of 210 men contested for positions on the first teams ; 
of non-smokers, 65.8 per cent were successful; of 
smokers, only 33.3 per cent were successful. 

One automobile company throughout its large fac- 
tories conspicuously posts this notice : 

"Boys who smoke cigarettes, we do not care to 
keep in our employ. In the future we shall not hire 
anyone whom we know to be addicted to this habit. 
It is our desire to weed it entirely out of the factory 
just as soon as possible. We shall ask everyone in 
our factory, who sees the seriousness of this habit, 
to use his influence in having it stamped out. ' ' 



CHAPTER X 

BUILDING THE COMMUNITY 

"The powers not delegated to the United States by 
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, 
are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the peo- 
ple." — The Constitution. 

Eveky generation writes its own history in the 
works it leaves. The permanency and beauty 
with which the generations have built, manifest 
man's desire to give back to nature the beauty of 
which she has been robbed through civilization. 
Much more remains to be done. Every community 
has its own share in this building. 

Strange as it may seem, the home was the last in- 
stitution to receive its share when art was called 
upon to replace nature's gifts. The home is the cus- 
todian of American citizenship; there all have a 
common interest. Through development, beauty and 
comfort are possible in remote districts as well as 
in the centers of population. Civic pride is a senti- 
ment common to all communities. A farm with well 
placed buildings, trees, choice shrubs, and good 
fences, is an open book to all. Once the man who had 
a neglected farm was known as a ne'er-do-well, and 
was welcomed at firesides because he reported news, 
gathered in idle moments. How is such an individual 
regarded today? 

74 



Our America and Our Constitution 75 

Discuss with your parents the duties of a citizen 
to his neighborhood. Would it be interesting to or- 
ganize an improvement league in your school? The 
following topics are suggested for consideration: 
Keeping weeds off the highways, better roads con- 
necting our byways with our highways. Are play- 
grounds practicable in rural communities? Would 
the neglected acre surrounding the rural school 
house be a natural center? Would the interest jus- 
tify the addition of enough ground to establish a ball 
park or tennis court? How would you determine? 

Have you in your community a tract of land that 
detracts from the value of the surrounding country 
by causing it to be classed as "that rough section? " 
It might be converted into a beautiful picnic ground 
or camping ground for tourists. Travelers from 
coast to coast would leave the highway to visit that 
"beautiful section." Many states are establishing 
state parks, developing and preserving the beauty of 
lake shores for public use. 

Homes are of three classes, beautiful, uninterest- 
ing, and ugly. The beautiful homes are the inter- 
esting ones, and differ from the uninteresting ones 
because they are different. The uninteresting and 
the ugly ones are those you must think about. The 
uninteresting homes are those that are all alike. We 
cannot build them over. The ugly ones often need 
only a coat of paint or a few vines. 



76 Our America and Our Constitution 

Perhaps a civic club in your school will help to 
make the homes in your community more attractive. 
This is the way the detour through your town a mile 
off the regular highway was secured, your electric 
lights, your paved streets, and your library. One 
man did not do it alone. The leading citizens de- 
veloped a program, and everybody helped to make 
it a success. Perhaps this is the way your mothers 
secured your community park with its beautiful 
grounds. 

You do not want all the houses in your community 
to look alike, so everyone should work on the prob- 
lem. Here are some suggestions : Some pretty lat- 
tices, with vines, a porch with shrubs, a dormer win- 
dow, a bird house on a pole, with vines, a well-kept 
lawn, a walk that goes in from the corner, a clump 
of shrubbery in the angle of the walk. You can sug- 
gest a dozen more. 

Do you read the seed catalogues and all the litera- 
ture sent out by seed companies and nurseries? 
They are very valuable for study. They read like 
fairy tales, and, better still, the stories come true. 
They are written by men and women who know. 
Read the bulletins that the national government 
sends out. They will tell you not only how to plant, 
but how to preserve the beauties all around you, if 
you learn to know them. In one city some women 
organized a "Garden Club." They studied about 



Our America and Our Constitution 77 

trees, shrubs, flowers and lawns, their arrangement 
and placing. The result was rare and gorgeous gar- 
dens. These gardens were opened to the public. 
People came in great numbers as they would to hear 
a great singer or see a beautiful painting. They 
found more than unusual tulips, iris, and hyacinths. 
They found blossoms more rare, spring beauties, 
hepatica, anemones, and wood violets, hedges of wild 
gooseberries and wild roses, vines, all the old friends. 
What had these women done for America? What 
have collectors of old paintings, tapestries, vases, 
and potteries done-? What is your historical society 
doing? These women did more; they got their mes- 
sage into every school in the city. You may finish 
the story by telling what the boys and girls did. 
Boys and girls in every community may organize 
"improvement clubs" and send committees to dif- 
ferent districts to study conditions. What will you 
find that all might have in common? Work out your 
plan to bring about these most desirable features in 
your community. Use some suggestions found else- 
where in this chapter .and. see how much the beauty 
of your community may be improved. 

What would be gained by federating the several 
clubs ? Would meetings in some central place to dis- 
cuss your problems help in their solution? Talk the 
matter of federated clubs over with your mother. 

The people of the city have many problems that 



78 Our America and Our Constitution 

are peculiar to the city. The industries in cities are 
being pushed back into their well defined zones. 
Some cities have removed the scars that were left 
on their lake shores and river fronts by converting 
these spots into parks. Do you know of any spot 
along your rivers that would make a good bathing 
beach? Is there a park in your community? Why 
are parks desirable? How are they secured? How 
are they financed? Do you need a playground in 
your community? Have you any location in sight? 
Would the co-operation of active junior clubs help 
you to secure one? Have members answer such 
questions as: what use do you make of your play- 
ground? Do playgrounds pay? 

Think of some ways you might help solve other 
problems that concern the appearance of your home 
community, such as better lighting, removal of bill 
boards, unsightly telephone poles, and handling of 
garbage. Did the four-minute speech campaign car- 
ried on by boys and girls all over our country do 
anything to sell Liberty Bonds or make the Junior 
Eed Cross a national organization? Are boys and 
girls too young to take part in the affairs of govern- 
ment? 

It might be interesting to study the lives of boys 
who made their nation possible, or of boys and girls 
who have re-written the history of other countries. 
How old was Hamilton when he first talked in the 



Our America and Our Constitution 79 

streets of New York? How old was Washington 
when lie learned the tactics that were used in the 
French and Indian war? How old was Lafayette 
when he came to America to fight for freedom? How 
old was Joan of Arc when she led the armies of 
France? 



CHAPTER XI 

SOCIAL LIFE 

"We, the people of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquility, provide for the common de- 
fense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, 
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the 
United States of America." — The Constitution. 

Playtime is the right of every individual, the 
playground being the laboratory of citizenship. 
The old rhyme implies this when it gives the result 
of "all work" on Jack. In America we want neither 
the dull citizen who has played not at all, nor the 
dangerous citizen who has played too much or in the 
wrong way. The people of this country have recog- 
nized this, as is shown by the movement which has 
been going on for more than a quarter of a century 
to establish playgrounds and other recreational cen- 
ters. 

Employers and employes, alike, have recognized 
the necessity for more leisure with the result that 
the present working clay is much shorter than that of 
a generation ago. Many states have passed strin- 
gent legislation with regard to child labor so that 
every child may have the opportunity for play as 
well as for education. Why were child labor laws 
needed? What has your state done? 
80 



Our America and Our Constitution 81 

Communities not only recognize the necessity of 
play and other forms of recreation by securing 
leisure hours and providing centers, but by provid- 
ing trained leaders who devote their time to this. 
How are you working with your community to make 
use of all that has been provided, or in helping to 
secure what is needed? Is there a place for ice skat- 
ing in your vicinity? If not, how could your school 
society set about to secure one? Is there a hill where 
you can safely coast? You cannot take chances and 
you must not permit younger children in the com- 
munity to do so. Why not study the loss of life 
through avoidable accidents? Consult the authori- 
ties and see if it is possible to have regulations made 
that will insure safe coasting during the season. 
Ball grounds are common in almost every neighbor- 
hood. The boy who actually plays baseball gets much 
more out of it than the one who is merely a specta- 
tor. Boys should organize neighborhood baseball 
teams instead of spending their time watching pro- 
fessionals play. Tennis courts and other means for 
outdoor sports might be provided at small expense, 
and it would be well if they, too, were more common. 
Athletic clubs are organized in many schools among 
girls as well as boys. Any game worth playing is 
worth playing well. Know the rules of your game 
and live up to them. You may not be able to play the 
game as well as a professional, but you can know the 



82 Our America and Our Constitution 

rules as well as he. Boys and girls learn to live in 
their play. The same rules hold good in the outside 
world as on the playground. The boy who is fair 
in his play, who puts forth his best efforts, but meets 
defeat squarely if it comes, is respected by his 
fellows, and grows to be the man who, in the outside 
world, plays fair and is respected by his associates. 
He is the desirable citizen. The boy who bullies, 
cheats, and whines, will do the same when he becomes 
a man. He is the undesirable citizen. It is to our 
interest, and the interest of our country, that we 
have all desirable citizens. Study how they may be 
trained on the playground. Propose some laws that 
you think would be of benefit to all the members of 
your playground. Think what the great American 
citizen who talked "square deal", and "within the 
range of fair play", meant by applying those terms 
to political life. Eead the life of Theodore Roose- 
velt. How did the love of good clean sports and the 
great outdoor life help him to serve his fellow coun- 
trymen ? 

What are you learning from nature that will help 
you serve your country? Perhaps the best organized 
means for such a study is to be found in the Boy 
Scout and Campfire Girl work. Is there a Boy Scout 
or a Campfire Girl organization in your community? 
How do they help? What is the standing of their 
members? Are you going into it and help make it 



Our America and Our Constitution 83 

do what it is intended to do ? These movements are 
backed by some of the best thinkers. Go to a good 
Scout leader and learn all about it; take advantage 
of the "hikes", the "camping out", and everything 
it has to contribute. Know the organization in its 
highest possible type. 

Physical play is not the only form of recreation 
that calls for your co-operation. You have your 
school orchestra, your school chorus, your dramatic 
club. The school gives them all to you. In what way 
are you helping to make these activities serve your 
community? These furnish interests around which 
community activities will grow. The greatest value 
to the individual comes from the activities in which 
he participates. In this way leaders have de- 
veloped. The community furnishes libraries, art 
galleries, music halls, and other facilities to help in 
your development. What use are you making of 
them? 

There are forms of recreation, some desirable, 
others undesirable, in which we do not participate. 
The drama has been one of the greatest means of 
education. Has it ever had any undesirable in- 
fluence ? The Court Jester did more than amuse his 
master; he taught him many lessons. What about 
many comedians? Visual education plays a wonder- 
ful part in the teaching of geography, history and 
literature and contributes to the real pleasure of 



84 Our America and Our Constitution 

many persons. The motion picture furnishes enter- 
tainment for more boys and girls than does any other 
form of social gathering. What can you say to 
justify this? What reasons can you give why this 
should not be true? Discuss this statement, fre- 
quently made, that commercialized forms of enter- 
tainment should be censored. Give the advantages 
of commercialized entertainment. Is it worth while 
that a community should know what is good and 
tolerate no other forms of recreation? 

Young America must know the value of "fair 
play", clean sports, clean minds, and pure hearts, if 
American ideals are to endure. 



CHAPTER XII 
EDUCATION 

"Religion, morality, and knowledge being neces- 
sary to good government and the happiness of man- 
kind, schools and the means of education shall for- 
ever be encouraged." — Ordinance of 1787. 

The early American families had a very definite 
program for education. It was like a triangle — 
having three sides. The nurture of the child included 
technical, educational, and spiritual development. 
The home was to provide for the first by having 
every boy master a trade, usually while working 
with his father or some older male members of the 
family. The same was to be done for the girl working 
in her mother 's kitchen or household. The scholastic 
training was to be acquired in the little school sup- 
ported by local subscriptions or tax. The spiritual 
life was to receive its training and inspiration on 
Sunday in the church and in the simple church 
schools. As life became more complex the father 
could no longer train his son at his side and this 
work had to be transferred to the school. 

The Constitution of our America does not directly 
provide for education. This was wisely left to the 
states. The following statements, taken from a State 
85 



86 Our America and Our Constitution 

Constitution, gives the attitude of every state toward 
education : 

' ' The general assembly shall encourage, by all suit- 
able means, the promotion of intellectual, scientific, 
moral, and agricultural improvement. 

"The educational interests of the state, including 
common schools and other educational institutions, 
shall be under the management of the board of edu- 
cation. 

"The board of education shall have full power and 
authority to legislate and make all needful rules and 
regulations in relation to common schools." 

Of all the great national achievements, the free 
schools stand first. No other nation does so much 
for its children and youth. Less than one hundred 
years ago there were only a very few free schools in 
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. There are men and 
women now living in every community in the Middle 
Western States who learned to read and write in pay 
schools where only the children of those parents who 
could provide the tuition were admitted. When free 
schools were first instituted, the term lasted for but 
ten or twelve weeks in the year. There were two rea- 
sons for this: the money was not available for a 
longer term ; it was also the general idea that boys 
and girls needed to play during this long vacation in 
order to be healthy. Now the best authority holds 
an entirely different idea, and the average school 



Our America and Our Constitution 87 

year is nine months, while in many cities the schools 
are operated in some way for eleven months. 

Then many children walked from two to five miles 
across open prairie, or along a winding cow path 
throngh the forest, to get a simple edncation. Now 
thousands are transported over gravelled and paved 
roads, in heated auto busses, to consolidated schools. 
Here there are palatial buildings with elaborate 
equipment for the finest type of work, organized and 
directed from the kindergarten to the high schools 
by trained teachers. 

In the average school district about fifty per cent 
of all the money raised by taxation goes toward the 
support of the schools, and in some it is even as 
large as seventy per cent. This produces a large 
sum and in many instances becomes a real burden 
for those who own taxable property. However, few 
complain, and many openly declare that the -school 
tax brings the largest results «of any. America 
thoroughly believes in an educated and trained citi- 
zenship. An educated man is self-supporting, 
seldom, if ever, asking for alms; he has a greater 
capacity for work, and can adjust himself in society 
the more readily. He naturally becomes the leader 
in his locality, and thus gives back to the tax-payer 
the original investment with interest, plus a large 
dividend in the nature of generous and valuable com- 
munity service. 



88 Our America and Our Constitution 

It costs the average school district about eighty 
dollars per year for every boy and girl in the seventh 
and eighth grades. In the four years of the high 
school, the amount will be around one hundred and 
fifty dollars for each pupil per year. In the kinder- 
garten and the first six grades, the average cost is 
somewhat lower, probably around sixty-five dollars 
per pupil. By simple addition it can easily be seen 
that the citizens and tax-payers really make each 
child who attends the public schools, through the 
kindergarten and all the grades including the high 
school, a cash present of about one thousand, two 
hundred and fifteen dollars. This is a generous gift; 
it is available for every child of whatever race or 
color, rich and poor alike. The son of a president 
attends the same school, the same room, and the same 
class with the son whose parent performs the most 
unskilled labor. The children of the immigrant from 
sunny Italy, or from frozen Russia, may pass 
through Ellis Island today and enter a free school 
tomorrow. This is the ideal of our America under 
our Constitution. 

Local schools are almost entirely financed by the 
community under the direction of the school board 
or school trustees. To a limited degree, funds are 
provided by the state and also by the United States 
for certain forms of education. This usually applies 



Our America and Our Constitution 89 

to vocational education. If the government does 
assist, it requires the state to furnish an equal 
amount. Congress provides for the first, and the 
state General Assembly must make an appropriation 
before this aid is available. Ninety-five per cent or 
more of funds for local public schools comes from a 
tax on the property and wealth within that district. 

Dr. Edward L. Thorndike, of Teachers College, 
Columbia University, gives some highly interesting 
estimates regarding formal educational conditions. 

"A material plant valued at $13,000,000,000, the 
labor of 550,000 teachers pr other educational officers, 
and part of the time of more than 18,000,000 students 
are used in formal school education in this country." 

"Our formal school education bill amounts to 
$475,000,000 each year. Fuel, light, janitors' salaries, 
repairs, and other items, total about $90,000,000 
and teachers' salaries come to about $300,000,000. ' ' 

The community directs its educational program 
through the kindergartens, consolidated and rural 
schools, elementary schools, and high schools. Some 
cities operate junior colleges and a few provide for 
technical schools and even a university. The climax 
of the public school system of a state is the State 
University. Not all young people who desire to con- 
tinue their education can be served in the university. 
Many churches maintain higher educational institu- 



90 Our America and Our Constitution 

tions, others are supported by private organizations 
and individuals. 

There are many other forms of education, such as 
chautauquas, libraries, correspondence schools, civic 
clubs, museums, art galleries, newspapers, maga- 
zines, improvement leagues, parent-teachers associa- 
tions, community centers, and theatres. In America, 
with these avenues for education within the reach of 
all, there is no excuse for illiteracy. 

Educated, unselfish, and God-fearing men made 
our Constitution. The great leaders in America have 
been men of learning, who have ever emphasized the 
importance of education. In a democracy like ours, 
the citizens must be trained if they are to take their 
place in this great land of service and opportunity. 
This training is not limited by any means to the 
children of those who are wealthy. If the parents 
have finished the high school and have gone to 
college, the prospects are better for their children 
to acquire a thorough education. Statistics show 
that for the last one hundred years in our country 
more children from the homes of college graduates 
have attended college than from the homes of any 
other group. 



CHAPTER XIII 
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 

"The Congress shall have power to establish post 
offices and post roads." — The Constitution. 

The early colonists walked, rode horseback, or 
travelled in carts or coaches. Then George 
Stephenson made a locomotive which would draw a 
number of coaches along a track, and Robert Fulton 
built a steamboat. From that time on railways and 
steamship lines have grown in number. Nowadays 
thousands of trains run from city to city over the 
United States. Some of these trains need as many 
as five big locomotives to push and pull them over 
the mountains. Great steamships carry freight and 
passengers all over the world. Some of these ships 
are so large that there would be room inside them 
for such a building as the capitol at Washington. 

Railways between cities in the same state are 
called intrastate railways. Railways between cities 
in different states are called interstate railways. 
Steamships that run on a regular schedule are called 
liners. Steamers that run from any port where they 
can get a cargo are called tramp steamers, or tramps. 

Name some article which you use in your home. 
How did it get there! Somebody brought it from a 
store. The storekeeper had it shipped to him on a 
91 



92 Our America and Our Constitution 

train, or steamer, or a motor truck, from a whole- 
saler in a city. The wholesaler had it shipped to 
him by the man who raised it or made it. But oranges 
would spoil long before they could be carried from 
California to Indiana in a wagon. Shoes would cost 
so much that people in Texas could not buy them if 
they had to be hauled from Massachusetts in a 
wagon. It would take months for people to go from 
Philadelphia to Seattle in carriages drawn by horses. 
Without trains and steamers our country would not 
be big and strong. How are perishable goods, such 
as fruit and meats, transported? What is through 
freight service? 

Let us start out from home and see how we can 
travel. You come to school this morning over a road 
or street? In the country, township trustees or 
county supervisors laid out the road, graded, 
dragged, or even paved it. They cut the weeds, and 
keep the culverts and bridges in good condition. In 
the city, the street commissioner keeps the streets 
clean and in good repair, builds and maintains 
bridges. The city lays out, plans, beautifies, and 
lights the streets. Many highways now are marked 
by a number or name, so that people traveling over 
them can be sure they have not lost their way, some 
being built by the state or the national government. 
What kinds of paving are there in your community? 



Our America and Our Constitution 93 

With what marked highways are you familiar? 
Trace the development of some national highway. 

Electric railways are usually built and operated 
by private corporations. Surface cars are cars run- 
ning in the street. Elevated railways are street rail- 
ways raised above the street. Subways are railways 
built in tunnels under the street. Suburban trains 
are trains which run from the center of the city to 
the outskirts. Interurban railways run from city to 
city. 

Before a street railway can begin to build it must 
get a franchise. An agreement is made between the 
city and the company, telling what the company may 
do and what it may not do. The agreement requires 
the company to carry passengers for a certain fare. 
It provides that the company must furnish the 
service it agrees to give. In return for this service 
the city grants the company the right to operate its 
cars through the streets. This right is the franchise. 
People speak of the agreement between the city and 
the street car company as the franchise. What other 
public utilities must get a franchise ? 

Another form of transportation for hauling 
freight is the canal. Canals are simply great ditches 
between cities, into which water is turned, so that 
boats can be floated from place to place. By means of 
locks, boats can be raised from a lower to a higher 



94 Our America and Our Constitution 

level in the canal, and actually lifted over hills or 
mountains. How are canals maintained? 

Although the aeroplane was invented only a few 
years ago, there are already many companies which 
carry passengers from town to town by aeroplane. 
The United States government carries mail from 
New York to San Francisco by regular aeroplane 
service. 

A few years ago the postage on a single letter 
might be as much as forty or fifty cents. Now one 
can send any letter not over an ounce in weight any- 
where in the United States, its possessions, or 
Canada, for 2c. Express companies and the govern- 
ment parcel post service carry packages much faster 
than the freight service. How may money be sent 
from place to place ? If you lost a registered letter 
or insured parcel valued at $100, how much could you 
recover? 

About 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse perfected the 
electric telegraph. The telegraph still is one of the 
most rapid means of sending messages. After the 
Civil War, Cyrus W. Field decided that it would be 
possible to lay a telegraph line on the bottom of the 
ocean. At first no one would believe it could be done, 
but Field kept working until he got enough money 
to start laying the first cable. It broke, but Field 
would not give up. Finally the cable was laid, and 
people began sending messages from New York to 



Our America and Our Constitution 95 

London. Now there are submarine cables running all 
over the world. A few years ago Gruglielmo Marconi 
discovered that messages might be sent through 
the air. The wireless telegraph makes it possible to 
send messages as soon as the sending and receiving 
stations have been built, without the expense and 
trouble of laying wires or cables. The United States 
government has built on Long Island a wonderful 
new station, with towers four hundred feet high, and 
with cross arms at the top which are one hundred 
and fifty feet long. Messages can be sent for thou- 
sands of miles by means of this station. About the 
time the first submarine cable was laid, Alexander 
Graham Bell was working on the telephone. Other 
men have improved his invention, until now a person 
in New York can talk to a person in San Francisco. 
The president can deliver an address to the congress, 
and people seated in auditoriums in other cities 
throughout the nation can hear him talk. People can 
even talk by wireless telephone. 

How did Morse get the money to construct the 
first telegraph line? What was the first message 
ever sent by telegraph? How are messages sent 
on the telegraph? The telephone? Submarine 
cable? Wireless telegraph? What is the Morse 
Code? International Code? May telephone and 
telegraph messages be sent over the same wires? 
Have you ever seen a cablegram? What is a code 



96 Our America and Our Constitution 

message? Do you have a radio club in your com- 
munity? Why does the government dismantle all 
private wireless stations in time of war? 

If you live in the city you can read before break- 
fast what has happened in other parts of the world 
while you were asleep. Wherever you live your 
newspaper brings news to you from all over the 
world. Magazines and books tell of the latest dis- 
coveries and inventions, they show pictures of peo- 
ple and places most of us never will see. 

The motion picture shows you people moving 
about at work and at play all over the world. Plays 
and stories are reproduced before the camera, so . 
that you can actually see with your own eyes how 
people looked and how they lived and what happened 
hundreds of years ago. You can even see repre- 
sented stories, poems, legends, fairy tales, and other 
events that never happened and never could happen. 
Tell about some pictures of places you have seen in 
the movies, the magazines. 



CHAPTER XIV 

WEALTH 

"The Congress shall have power to regulate com- 
merce with foreign nations and among the several 
states." — The Constitution. 

While you are at school your parents are work- 
ing at home, on a farm, in a store, an office, 
a factory, or in some other place. They are earning 
money to exchange for the food, shelter, clothing, 
conveniences, and luxuries which your family uses. 

They do this either by creating wealth, or by ren- 
dering some other service to the community. John 
Stuart Mill defines wealth as "All useful or agree- 
able things which possess exchangeable value.' ' 
Water running from a spring in the forest is not 
wealth because anyone can get it free. But the same 
water is worth money when it is pumped or carried 
into a city. It takes labor to pump the water, tools 
in the shape of barrels, pipes, pumps or other 
machinery to get it to the place where it can be used. 

The three necessary elements for the production 
of wealth are natural resources, labor, tools or 
machinery. The water represents a natural re- 
source. The pumping machinery represents the 
tools, and the men who operate the machinery do the 
work. Wealth is created only when these three ele- 
ments work together. 

97 



98 Our America and Our Constitution 

Fertile soil, deposits of minerals, forests, running 
water, the sun, the tides, electricity, all are natural 
resources. Man can not make them. He may learn 
how to control them, and use them for his own pur- 
poses. What are the principal natural resources of 
your country? 

The second element in the production of wealth is 
labor. Man must work to till the soil, to dig the 
minerals, to cut down trees. To do this he must de- 
vise the third element, tools or machinery, with 
which to change these natural resources into forms 
in which they will be useful or agreeable, so that they 
may be exchanged for other wealth. How are the 
natural resources of your community converted into 
wealth through the use of labor and machinery? 

Start with one natural resource, the soil, and see 
how wealth is produced. The farmer must have 
machinery and animals with which to prepare the 
field, he must sow the seed, tend the crop, harvest it, 
and transport it to market. The people who load it, 
unload it and operate the trains or steamers which 
carry it to the city, all are doing work which makes 
the produce more valuable. Why is produce worth 
more in the city than on the farm? What increased 
its value ? 

Workers in the city stake the produce, and by the 
aid of machinery and tools, change the wheat into 
flour, the cotton or wool into thread. Other people 



Our America and Our Constitution 99 

bake the flour into bread or pastry, or weave the 
thread into cloth. No matter how good the wheat or 
cotton, or wool might be, it would be valueless unless 
someone worked to change it into flour, or cloth, or 
meal. No matter how much material, no matter how 
hard people might work, they could not produce flour 
or cloth without using some kind of machinery, even 
if it were only a couple of stones or a few pieces of 
wood. 

No matter how much material, how many workers, 
nor how much machinery, nothing could be produced 
unless these three elements were set to work to- 
gether. 

Trace the production of each of the principal crops 
raised in your community. How have the different 
elements contributed to the production of some 
articles you use in your home? 

No merchant could afford to go all over the world 
to get all the things that are sold even in a small 
store. Men who collect large quantities of different 
goods to sell the merchant are called wholesalers. 
Wholesalers and manufacturers send salesmen to 
show the merchants new articles and thus enable 
him to replenish his stock of goods. This makes it 
possible for you to buy many things at your store 
which you might not otherwise have the opportunity 
of purchasing. 

Many firms also write letters, send out circulars or 



100 Our America and Our Constitution 

booklets, and print advertisements in newspapers 
and magazines, telling about the things they make 
and sell. Bring to school some advertisement which 
is especially good. Why is it good? 

Thousands of people are engaged in all these 
different occupations of producing, transporting, 
manufacturing, and distributing things which people 
need. Many thousands are working to carry the 
mail, operate telephones and telegraphs, print and 
circulate magazines, newspapers, and other publica- 
tions, and handle the details of business. Thousands 
more are helping to educate children, cure the sick, 
take care of the poor, and to make the community 
happier in other ways. Thousands are engaged in 
carrying on 'the work of government, protecting 
our lives and property, and guarding the interests 
of the community. How many businesses, trades 
and professions are represented in your school? 
How does each contribute to the production of 
wealth? 

All of these people render some service for which 
the people of the community are willing to pay. 
Every man, woman, and child should do some useful 
work to make the community better and happier. 
How do you help your parents? Your most impor- 
tant work is to get an education, so you may be a 
harder and more useful citizen. Whether your 
part„ts labor with their hands, or their minds, makes 



Oub America and Our Constitution 101 

no difference, so long as they are doing some- useful 
work. You are free to decide what kind of work you 
ought to do. The community will help you learn how 
to do it. You can make your own life just as happy 
and just as useful as you desire. 



CHAPTER XV 
VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS IN INDUSTRY 

"Congress shall make no law respecting the right 
of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition 
the government for a redress of grievances." — The 
Constitution. 

Because industries and their continual growth 
are so essential to the maintenance of com- 
munity prosperity, there have sprung up many 
voluntary organizations whose aims are to protect 
labor, increase production or promote trade. 

Some of these organizations, known as labor 
unions, are within the separate trades themselves. 
They declare they hold up high ideals of craftsman- 
ship within the trade, work for reasonable working 
hours, higher wages, and better standards of living 
for the workers. Various labor unions within a com- 
munity are organized into a central body whose 
interests are the interests of the labor movement, 
irrespective of trade. Finally the national organ- 
izations of these various unions are organized into a 
federation which makes the policies and directs the 
activities of the labor movement throughout the 
country. What labor unions are most active in your 
community? 

Interests of various professions are protected and 
advanced by organizations such as bar associations, 
102 



Our America and Our Constitution 103 

medical associations, dental associations, which go 
far toward the development and standardization of 
the professions they represent. For instance, na- 
tional medical associations spread knowledge on 
methods of fighting disease, methods of sanitation in 
cities, and information on problems nation-wide in 
scope. 

Every community of any size has its organiza- 
tions of retailers and of manufacturers, whose 
special problems are best dealt with through organ- 
ization. These bodies, in turn, have national organ- 
izations to work for better business practices and 
better business. 

Chambers of Commerce, Commercial clubs, Com- 
munity clubs and Improvement leagues work in 
many ways for the development of their community, 
especially to increase industries. They seek reduced 
freight rates, better roads, helpful legislation, they 
advertise the advantages of their community 'to 
other communities. They may even take charge of 
the voluntary welfare work of an entire city. Their 
membership is drawn not only from business, but 
from men and women of every profession, trade, and 
calling of the community. Name such organizations 
in your community. What are they doing? 

To reduce unemployment to a minimum, free em- 
ployment bureaus are usually operated by state and 
city governments and frequently by recognized 



104 Our America and Our Constitution 

charitable organizations. These bureaus are in touch 
with employers of labor in their communities. They 
maintain lists of jobs in the cities and also in rural 
districts. This solves not only the problem of the 
unemployed, but that of the employer, whose busi- 
ness suffers for lack of workers. 

Credit bureaus are organized for the protection of 
those who extend credit. They keep a check on the 
promptness with which individuals and concerns 
meet their obligations, and furnish it to members. 
Why are credit bureaus of benefit to the community 
as well as to those directly interested? 

The farmer, as well as the laboring man and the 
business man, has recognized the advantages of 
organization; we now have many associations of 
farmers. Their problems and interests are mani- 
fold; good roads, low shipping rates, labor on the 
farm, farm tenantry, marketing of farm products, 
prices for farm commodities, adequate farm finan- 
cing. The farmer, long a lone worker, hopes to solve 
many of his perplexing problems through organiza- 
tion. Already his efforts are meeting with pro- 
nounced success. Name some specific benefits com- 
ing from farm associations. Locally. Nationally. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THRIFT 

"Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee." — 
Benjamin Franklin. 

A most acceptable definition of thrift is elimina- 
tion of waste. Any person having the clear 
vision to provide for the fntnre has made the elim- 
ination of waste his basis. This being trne we make 
it the basis of thrift education. "Unfortunately, 
there has been a wrong idea of the meaning of thrift. 
Too many have thought of it as the mere function of 
saving, or hoarding, money. Thrift of money is but 
one of its many phases.' ' We give a personal touch 
to this subject of thrift, though showing that one 
should learn to be thrifty in many ways other than 
in a money sense. 

Thrift habits are developed through the sound 
principle of "Learn to do by doing." The value of 
this civic instruction can be measured only by the de- 
gree with which the conduct of the pupils of your 
school is modified by this training in thrifty habits. 
What part shall thrift play in your every day con- 
duct? Will the members of your school work to- 
gether for thrift of time, thrift of talent, thrift of 
energy, thrift of health, thrift of saving and invest- 
105 



106 Our America and Our Constitution 

ing money! To what extent do you practice these 
forms of thrift? 

Make promptness the central idea of thrift of time ; 
prompt response in our every day activities. 
Promptness, the habit of conserving time, is a most 
commendable virtue in both the social and business 
world. If your teacher were to ask you if you were 
practicing ' ' thrift of time ' ' your answer would prob- 
ably be indefinite because you do not know. Tomor- 
row you can give your teacher a definite answer to 
her question. 

Let us learn how to budget our time. Tomorrow 
arise at seven o'clock, and attend to every detail of 
dressing for school in not more than twenty minutes. 
Go out doors and practice deep breathing for ten 
minutes. It is seven-thirty o 'clock and your mother 
is announcing breakfast; eat slowly the necessary 
amount of food, and the kind best suited to your 
growth. Do this in not less than thirty minutes. 
Have no thought of haste. It is not well, and, too, it 
is not necessary, because it is only eight o'clock, and 
you have half an hour before school time to practice 
your music lesson, read another chapter in an inter- 
esting book, or play out of doors. It is now eight- 
thirty, so you will start promptly for school. Learn 
thrift of time by planning some such definite pro- 
gram, and you can say with pride, "I conserve my 
time." Will you try this plan and report in class 



Our America and Our Constitution 107 

how you are now using, for profit and pleasure, the 
time you previously wasted? 

Can you make all the trimmings for your family 
Christmas tree? Can you make a doll's house for a 
little friend out of an empty box? Did you make 
your sled? Can you make an attractive winter 
bouquet of seed pods from the highways? If you 
can answer ' i yes J ' you are learning the all-important 
lesson of self-reliance in using materials at hand, 
thus saving money. Do you think it would be profit- 
able to set aside an occasional period for a conversa- 
tional lesson on the topic, "What I can make out of 
waste material? " 

You will enjoy seeing and examining what your 
classmates reclaimed from waste material. If all 
would bring these articles to school and place them 
on display, many eyes would be opened to the use 
of what would ordinarily be discarded; your class 
would have become an increasing influence in lessen- 
ing waste and in bringing about a more general inter- 
est in thrift of talent. 

One of the most determining things in life is the 
amount of energy one has at his command. Can we 
afford to waste it? Can you write a neat lesson 
with a blunt pencil or a poor pen? Can you pare 
apples or potatoes quickly or economically with a 
dull knife? Can you go to bed late and yet have 
sufficient energy the following clay to do excellent 



108 Our America and Our Constitution 

school work? Hanging up your coat and hat, put- 
ting your gloves in your drawer, placing your books 
on your desk, save both energy and time. "A place 
for everything and everything in its place' ' means 
conquering waste of time, waste of energy, and waste 
of materials. 

Then there is thrift of health, which is most im- 
portant if you are to be a physically fit citizen. We 
have at last discovered that health, like happiness, 
is to large extent a matter of habit. 

Fresh air day and night, drinking much water, 
deep breathing, eating slowly and moderately of 
wholesome food, drinking at least one quart of milk 
daily, keeping the feet both warm and dry, practicing 
common sense, cleanliness of the body within and 
without, result in a strong body and a healthy mind, 
which, in turn, promotes the highest type of citizen- 
ship. 

Get a blank book and keep a record of all the 
money you receive and spend for six months. We 
can not get away from the fact that manhood's 
deeds are mostly childhood's ideals and ambitions 
grown up. If, in the school room, you learn to record 
every money transaction, the habit will become a 
part of your everyday life. If you are so trained 
you will be interested in providing for your future 
by working out a family budget system. ' ' The day 
of haphazard living is past." 



Our America and Our Constitution 109 

Suppose the income of one member of your school 
when he is twenty-one years of age is one thousand 
dollars annually ; determine what per cent of his in- 
come he should save, what per cent he should give 
to church or charities, and what per cent he should 
spend for necessities and luxuries. 

The National Thrift Committee suggests : " When 
one is young, and the income limited, is the time for 
saving, systematically, from ten to twenty per cent 
of one's income. Gifts to church and all general 
betterment funds will be in proportion to income, 
provided one gives not less than five per cent." 
Human nature is selfish, so you must cultivate the 
desire to give generously, bearing in mind, "Not 
what we give, but what we share. " As soon as your 
income permits, be ready and willing to give the 
Biblical standard, ten per cent. 

Under necessities, list rent, food, fuel, clothing, 
health, transportation, and incidentals; under 
luxuries, the things that help to broaden life, books, 
art, music, and travel. i i One of the chief benefits of 
a family budget is that it requires one to develop the 
power of decision through holding true to the course 
known to be for one's best interests." There is no 
better character tonic than for father and mother to 
work out the per cent of income they desire to save, 
give, and spend, and then, through a strong will, 
spend wisely, that the entire family may have that 



110 Our America and Our Constitution 

contentment of mind which leads to success and 
happiness. 

If you have a school bank or a savings department 
in your school system, become a weekly depositor. 
Saving is easy, provided one saves for a definite pur- 
pose. It may be something you want several months 
from now, bicycle, dog, pony, piano, or perhaps a 
course in college. You can get it if you begin today 
to save systematically. 

Of course you like a class excursion, all boys and 
girls like to get into the whirl of business life. Ask 
your teacher to take your class to visit a savings 
bank. You will learn how to open a savings account, 
how much interest the bank will pay for the use of 
your money, and how money works to earn for you. 

The postal savings bank is in the post office, and 
the postmaster will be glad to explain how the United 
States government conducts it. Any boy or girl may 
buy savings stamps, and when the amount reaches 
one dollar he may deposit it and the postal savings 
bank pays him interest. 

Nearby is a place which carries the sign "Insur- 
ance. ' ' The man in charge will explain that by pay- 
ing a certain sum of money you may secure a policy 
of insurance which provides that in case you are in- 
jured or become sick you will receive a fixed sum 
every week for a certain number of weeks. You will 
find that you can get a policy of insurance against 



Our America and Our Constitution 111 

the destruction of your house by fire, or against any 
one of a number of other property losses. Finally, 
the insurance man will explain to you a policy of life 
insurance. This is a contract by which the insurance 
company agrees to pay a certain sum in ten, twenty 
or other number of years, or when you die, if you 
deposit a fixed sum of money at regular intervals. 
This money the company invests with the money 
thousands of other people are depositing, using the 
interest to pay the expense of doing business and 
to help pay claims. In this way you can make sure 
that when you are old you will have a definite sum 
of money, Even if you should not live, your family 
will receive the full amount of money which you have 
planned to save. Life insurance is one sure way of 
saving money. 

Next you come to the office of the Building Loan 
Association, which helps people build homes. Two 
kinds of shares are sold, investors' shares, and 
builders ' shares. Investors ' shares are purchased by 
people who want their money to earn good interest 
as fast as they save it. Builders' shares are pur- 
chased by people who desire to build homes. Both 
kinds of shares are sold on the installment plan, pay- 
ments being required every week or every month. 
By this means the savings of a number of people can 
be used to build homes which others can purchase on 
the payment plan. 



112 Our America and Our Constitution 

Anyone who purchases property for the purpose 
of receiving the income earned by it is said to invest 
his money. The home builder invests his money 
when he buys his home. If he does not pay for it all 
at once he may give a mortgage for the balance. A 
mortgage is a contract to pay the sum agreed upon 
within a certain time, with the provision that the 
lender may have the property sold to satisfy his 
claim in case the payment is not made. A mortgage 
given for a reasonable part of the value of a prop- 
erty is usually considered a safe investment. 

Bonds are much the same as mortgages, except 
that they are given by corporations, cities, state, and 
national governments. The security furnished by a 
corporation is the physical property it owns, the 
security offered by governments is their power to 
raise money bj^ taxation. Both private and govern- 
ment bonds depend for their value on the soundness 
of the organization and the managing ability of its 
officials, quite as much as on the value of their prop- 
erty. 

Many businesses form stock companies or corpora- 
tions in order to secure capital with which to do busi- 
ness. The sum of money which the company is 
authorized to secure by the sale of shares is known 
as the capital or capital stock. This capital stock 
is divided into units known as shares so that anyone 
may purchase as little or as much as he may desire. 



Our America and Our Constitution 113 

Purchasers of shares receive certificates of stock, 
and are known as shareholders or stockholders. If 
the company earns a profit, it is divided among the 
shareholders in payments called dividends. Anyone 
who buys stock assnmes his share of the risk of doing 
business. He is speculating, because the profits are 
not secured by property in the manner in which 
bonds are secured. 

When you have saved enough money to make an 
investment, do not decide definitely that you will buy 
stocks, bonds, mortgages, or any other attractive 
proposition presented to you by one who would be 
profited by your investment until you have investi- 
gated it from many angles, and not until you add 
wise counsel to your own judgment. 

How does insurance make it possible for men to 
undertake a business that otherwise they could not 
consider? Do you have a workmen's compensation 
act in your state ? How is insurance related to this 
act. Explain old line insurance companies; frater- 
nal insurance companies. Can you explain how your 
savings deposits are protected by government regu- 
lation of banks? What is the difference between 
hoarding and saving money? Can you name at least 
iive members of the "Thrift family"? Are you 
thrifty? Do you have a home vegetable garden? Do 
you raise chickens or pigs ? Do you belong to a "pig 



114 Our America and Our Constitution 

club" or " girls canning club"? Enter one or all of 
these activities. Be a producer ! 



CHAPTER XVII 

GOVERNMENT PROMOTION AND 
PROTECTION 

"The Congress shall have power to make all laws 
which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other 
powers vested by this Constitution in the govern- 
ment of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof." — The Constitution. 

Except the thirteen original colonies, all of the 
states now comprising the United States, were 
at one time, territories. As snch it was necessary for 
them to have a form of government. Before the 
boundaries could be established the land had to be 
surveyed. What is meant when a farmer says his 
land is located in the N. W. %, Sec. 24, T. 15, R. 3? 
The early government surveyors and engineers 
performed a most valuable task. The first public 
service rendered by George Washington was that of 
surveyor in unorganized regions. All of the land in 
each territory once belonged to the Government. 
What provision was made whereby individuals might 
acquire portions of this land! Before the land was 
surveyed, how did the earliest pioneers locate their 
farms? 

In 1862 Congress set aside eleven million acres of 
land in the middle and western states with a pro- 
115 



116 Our America and Our Constitution 

vision that they should eventually be sold and the 
proceeds turned toward the establishment and oper- 
ation of colleges of agriculture, science, and military 
tactics. To what extent has your community profited 
from this legislation? 

There are several territories dependent upon the 
United States for protection. Name them. What 
is the difference between a territory and a state? 
What privileges do the citizens of states have over 
those who live in territories? 

The territories of the United States have a form 
of government very similar to that provided in our 
Constitution. The president appoints a governor 
over each of these territories who serves for a term 
of four years. The voters of these territories elect 
the members of their own legislature, which is com- 
posed of a Senate and a House. Each territory is 
also entitled to at least one delegate in Congress. 
These delegates receive the same compensation as 
the regular congressmen. They serve on commit- 
tees, offer advice helpful to their respective dis- 
tricts, but do not have a right to vote on the ques- 
tions before Congress. 

Much of the land now within the domain of the 
various states of the union was formerly of but little 
value. Some of it had too much water and was 
called a swamp. Then some did not have enough 
moisture for vegetation and were called deserts. 



Our America and Our Constitution 117 

Formerly there was not sufficient need for all of our 
territory in the production of food, but as the popu- 
lation increased, it became necessary to make use of 
this undeveloped territory. Therefore, Congress ap- 
propriated large sums whereby this swamp land, 
which is very fertile, could be drained and turned 
into prosperous farms. Before this could be done, 
however, the health department of our Government 
had to overcome the evil effects from yellow fever, 
malaria, and other diseases. Along with drainage 
came sewer systems, cleaner streets, and the elimina- 
tion of bogs and low lands where mosquitoes pros- 
pered. Why was it necessary to destroy the mos- 
quitoes ? Who were the men who made the most im- 
portant sacrifices for the eradication of yellow fever? 
How were mosquitoes destroyed while the Panama 
Canal was being built? 

In a single year 400,000 people in the United States 
are incapacitated on account of typhoid fever, and 
30,000 deaths occur from this source. The govern- 
ment, by inoculation and otherwise, is rapidly re- 
ducing this great waste. How did typhoid fever 
affect the soldiers in the Civil War? The Spanish- 
American War? The World War? 

Nearly twenty years ago, Congress made appro- 
priation for the construction of large dams and tun- 
nels, necessary for irrigation in arid regions. Where 
are most of these located? Name some of the larg- 



118 Our America and Our Constitution 

est projects. How does the Government get back at 
least a part of the money spent for this work? 

There are many other ways by which we receive 
daily protection from our Government. The rich 
must not oppress the poor. The large manufacturer, 
aside from the difference in cost of transportation, 
must sell his goods without discrimination between 
purchasers. The railroads are compelled to carry 
the mail as rapidly and accurately as possible. The 
letter carrier in the city and the rural carrier in the 
country bring the mail to our very door. 

No wonder that people from Europe and Asia 
eome to America in throngs every year. They, too, 
want this protection, but here again the Constitution 
is continually serving our interests. . No alien can 
pass through Ellis Island or other ports who is af- 
fected with a contagious disease, who is feeble- 
minded, who is criminal, or who for various reasons 
would be unable to support himself. Children with- 
out their parents cannot come. All who come with a 
good reputation, a desire to work, and a reasonable 
interpretation of our government are ever welcome. 

Think of some important business or industry in 
your particular community. What would be the 
effect if government protection were removed ? What 
does the government do to aid the employer? The 
employee? The consumer? What is workmen's 
compensation legislation? Why do we have factory 



Our America and Our Constitution 119 

and mine inspectors? What is the Federal Trade 
Commission? What is the Interstate Commerce 
Commission ? 



CHAPTER XVIII 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

"The legitimate object of Government is to do for 
a community of people whatever they need to have 
done but cannot do themselves in their separate in- 
dividual capacities." — Abraham Lincoln. 

Eveey person desires for himself and for his 
community, health, protection of life and prop- 
erty, recreation, beauty in his civic surroundings, 
ease of transportation, and opportunity to win 
through his labors a certain amount of wealth. Be- 
cause it is impossible for each individual to do these 
things for himself, communities secure through gov- 
ernments these elements of welfare for their citizens. 
The unit of government which is most elementary, 
most universal, and which touches most closely the 
rights of the greatest number of citizens, is the town- 
ship. Here the legislative and executive functions 
are exercised by a board elected by the people, 
usually known as trustees. They supervise the 
affairs of the township government and control the 
expenditure of certain money belonging to the town- 
ship. The judicial functions are exercised by the 
justice of the peace assisted by the constable. School 
affairs in the township are administered by the town- 
ship school board. 

120 



Our America and Our Constitution 121 

The legislative powers are exercised for the county 
by a board, usually known as supervisors, who are 
elected by direct vote of the people. The executive 
functions are intrusted to the county officers who 
also are elected by the people. The judicial func- 
tions are usually exercised by a district judge who 
serves several counties and who is a state officer 
rather than merely a county officer. 

The county supervisors control the government 
affairs of the county, authorize any expenditures 
which the county must make and oversee the man- 
agement of the county institutions. The county 
treasurer usually collects all the direct taxes against 
property in the country and pays out the county's 
money as authorized by law. The auditor keeps on 
record all matters pertaining to taxes and their dis- 
tribution. The recorder keeps on file records of real 
estate transfers and such documents as the law re- 
quires or permits to be recorded. The county clerk 
handles the detail business for the district court and 
issues such licenses as are required by the law. 
County school affairs are managed by the county 
superintendent of schools, who directs and super- 
vises the work of the school authorities in the vari- 
ous townships. The county attorney, with the help 
of the sheriff, attends to the legal business of the 
county, including the prosecution of criminals. These 
prosecutions are brought in the district court which 



122 Our America and Our Constitution 

meets at the county seat at regularly appointed in- 
tervals to try offenders and settle disputes. Name 
your county officers. District judge. For what term 
do they serve? Visit the court house with your 
teacher. Visit a session of court. 

The legislative functions of the state are exercised 
by the legislature, composed of senators and repre- 
sentatives elected by the people. The executive 
functions are exercised by the governor with the as- 
sistance of various other elective or appointive state 
officers. The judicial functions are exercised by the 
state supreme court which passes upon the decisions 
of the inferior courts. Who represents you in your 
legislature? What state officers in your state are 
elected by the people! How long do they serve? 
What are their duties? Name the principal officers 
who are appointed. Who appoints them? How long 
do they serve and what are their duties? 

In cities, the legislative functions are exercised by 
the city council; the executive functions by the 
mayor; and the judicial functions by the municipal 
or police judges. Towns and cities sometimes have 
a different form of government but in every case 
there must be some officers who exercise these three 
functions of government. How do the commission 
and the city manager plans of government differ 
from the ordinary form? 



Our America and Our Constitution 123 

While the free schools in most rural communities 
are under the jurisdiction of the township school 
board, in other localities there are independent 
school districts, consolidated school districts, and 
city school districts. All of these bodies are under the 
general supervision of the state superintendent of 
public instruction. Who directly supervises the free 
schools in your community? 

Both in the township, the county, the state and the 
city the people elect representatives and officers who 
are authorized to exercise the powers and perform 
the duties which the people have prescribed for these 
officers through the constitution and statutes. The 
people have the power to perform through these 
officers any service which they see fit. to prescribe by 
amending the constitution or by the passage of new 
laws. 



CHAPTER XIX 

CHAEITIES 

"Whatsoever things ye would that men should do 
to you, do ye also unto them in like manner." — The 
Golden Rule. 

Theee are in every community individuals who 
are unable to support themselves and are there- 
fore dependent upon the charity of the community. 
This dependence may be on account of such causes 
as sickness or accident. Sometimes deserving fami- 
lies are thrown upon the charity of a community 
through the loss of the bread winner in the family. 
Sometimes the individual's condition is due to lazi- 
ness and shiftlessness. 

The whole problem of assisting those in need is a 
complicated one. There is always danger from in- 
discriminate giving when sympathies are aroused. 
This sort of charity too often results in pauperizing 
those whom it is intended to benefit, and thus makes 
a bad matter worse. Trained workers are required 
to administer charity, workers who will be able to 
decide not only how to give immediate relief to the 
individual, but how to put him on his own responsi- 
bility. By administration of all kinds of charity, 
through a central body the danger of pauperization 
may be averted. 

124 



Our America and Our Constitution 125 

There are many organizations which work simply 
within their own communities, caring for the cases of 
dependency that come to their attention. Churches 
and settlement houses do this kind of work. Many 
lodges not only look out for unfortunate members, 
but have standing committees for doing other char- 
itable and relief work. Many business corporations 
care for the needy within their own organizations. 
Some public-spirited citizens have established foun- 
dations and bequeathed legacies for carrying on 
charities of various kinds. Many churches, lodges 
and fraternal societies establish hospitals and homes 
for the aged, and for orphans. Numerous schools of 
philanthropy are endowed for the training of work- 
ers in social relief. 

In cities, we find such organizations as municipal 
hospitals, health centers, public nursing services and 
houses of correction for children and adults who 
need moral as well as physical assistance; counties 
have their hospitals and sanatoriums where sickness 
and disease, such as the white plague, are cared for. 
Many states have boards of public charities, which 
supplement the service of local communities. 
Widows are granted pensions in most states, a cer- 
tain sum being allotted for the care of each father- 
less child. Name and locate the various state char- 
itable institutions. What is your city, county or state 
doing for the eradication of tuberculosis? 



126 Our America and Our Constitution 

Visiting nurses and visiting housekeepers do much 
constructive work. Their program is one of educa- 
tion. How does the visiting nurse help the commu- 
nity? How does the visiting housekeeper help in 
teaching economy? 

Children and old people are dependent upon 
others, so when they have no families to care for 
them, the community must assume the burden. 
Sometimes homes for these children are privately 
conducted and in many cities there are organizations 
which place in private families children who are left 
without relatives to care for them. 

While the first problem for charitable bodies is to 
give immediate relief, their ultimate purpose is to 
remove the causes which lead to dependency. Prohi- 
bition, strict health laws, building and housing regu- 
lations, are raising the standard of health and re- 
ducing the number of charity cases. How does un- 
employment affect charities! Distinguish between 
general and seasonal employment. 

A good program in the field of modern charities 
is the Junior Eed Cross, through which children 
learn the principles of organized giving by aiding 
other children. When did the Junior Eed Cross 
originate? Do you have one in your school? How 
is it financed? Whom are you helping? 



CHAPTER XX 

CRIME AND CORRECTION 

"Let us develop the resources of the land, call 
forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote 
all its great interests, and see whether we also, in 
our day and generation, may not perform something 
worthy to be remembered." — Daniel Webster. 

Oue goveenment has been builded upon great 
foundation stones in the form of certain funda- 
mental principles. One of these fundamentals is 
found in that portion of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence wherein it is declared that every person 
is endowed by his Creator with certain inalienable 
rights, among them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness. 

The purpose of government is to guarantee to the 
citizens of that government the right to live, the 
right to be free, the right to enjoy and use their 
property, and the right to seek happiness. In order 
that these rights may be protected it is necessary 
that there be established certain rules of conduct, 
which are enforced either by the national govern- 
ment, state government, or municipal government. 
These have been enacted into what we call laws by 
the passage of statutes by our national congress, by 
state legislatures and by city councils. These laws 
127 



128 Our America and Our Constitution 

or rules of human conduct have been established for 
our guidance and also for the restraint of others. 

When these rights are violated, the violator com- 
mits either a crime or a tort. A crime is the viola- 
tion of a public right. A tort is the violation of a 
private right. When a crime is committed, the one 
who commits the crime may either be fined or impris- 
oned. When one commits a tort he becomes liable 
for the damage sustained to the individual whose 
private right has been violated. If someone breaks 
into your house, has he committed a crime or a tort? 
If the coal man drives over your curb and breaks it, 
is the offense a crime or a tort? 

) Crimes are divided into two general classes, — 
felonies and misdemeanors. The greater offenses 
such as murder, robbery, burglary, breaking and en- 
tering, grand larceny, which may be punished by 
imprisonment in the penitentiary, are known as 
felonies. Crimes of a less serious nature are known 
as misdemeanors and are punishable only by fine or 
by imprisonment in the city or county jail. Is high- 
way robbery a felony or a misdemeanor ? The viola- 
tion of the speed law? 

When people violate any of our laws, national, 
state, or municipal, it is necessary that they be called 
to account for their misconduct, otherwise the rights 
of law-abiding citizens would be jeopardized. Every 
person in the enjoyment of his rights should so con- 



Our America and Our Constitution 129 

duct himself as not to violate the rights of his fellow 
citizens. Why may not every citizen in a free coun- 
try do exactly as he pleases? In school! Discuss 
the rule against killing birds; against injury to 
property. 

In every community there are persons who, for 
one reason or another, do not conform to the rules 
and regulations of society. Such persons are the 
sources of disorder. One of the questions with which 
every community has to deal is, what shall be done 
with those who violate the law? Punishment of such 
persons was formerly the predominant thought; to- 
day those engaged in the work of correction have, 
for the most part, changed their attitude toward the 
one who violates the law. They have in mind three 
things : first, the punishment of the one who has done 
wrong ; second, the reforming of such person, to the 
end that he may become an orderly and useful mem- 
ber of society; third, to set an example to the public 
generally which will deter others from committing 
like offenses. Give specific examples of each of these 
ideas. 

The methods now used in caring for adult pris- 
oners result in entirely different treatment. Punish- 
ment is no longer revengeful, but rather preventive 
and correctional. Prison officers assume an entirely 
different attitude toward the prisoners. They pro- 
vide them with newspapers, magazines and books, 



130 Our America and Our Constitution 

and endeavor to teach them some useful trade. Most 
prisons have regularly conducted church services, 
and many are equipped with moving picture ma- 
chines and other modes of entertainment. In many 
states, prisoners are not kept in absolute confine- 
ment, but are required to work at road-building, 
agriculture, or construction work in other institu- 
tions. Do you think this is a better plan than merely 
to confine the prisoners in cells! 

Almost every state has a system of parole, whereby 
the men are given credit for the good and honorable 
things they do while in prison, many being released 
under parole before they have served their full sen- 
tence. Some citizen of their home community un- 
dertakes to look after their welfare, giving them em- 
ployment, assisting them in different ways, and re- 
quiring them to make regular weekly and monthly 
reports to the state board of parole. 

Some states have what are known as Prison Ee- 
form Associations and Prisoners' Aid Associations. 
These organizations seek to bring about improve- 
ments in the methods of handling prisoners, and to 
assist the prisoner when he is discharged. The 
Prisoners' Aid Association provides officers who 
make it their business to see to it that the prisoner, 
when discharged, has at least one friend who will 
help him secure employment and get him started on 
the right road if possible. 



Our America and Our Constitution 131 

Delinquent boys and girls are those who have 
reached an age of considerable responsibility, and 
who have violated some of the laws of onr land, or 
who are incorrigible and either refuse to mind their 
parents or refuse to attend school. Such children are 
no longer tried in the same courts as adult criminals. 

In most states the laws provide that children shall 
not be imprisoned in the city and county jails or in 
the reformatories and penitentiaries for adult prison- 
ers. These states have what are known generally as 
Boys' Training Schools and Girls' Training Schools 
where delinquent boys and girls may be committed 
for the purpose of confinement and training. In most 
of these training schools the boys and girls are kept 
until they attain the age of 21 years, unless sooner 
released. 

One of the most important parts of the juvenile 
work is the probation work. Not over one-tenth of 
the boys and girls whose cases are brought into 
juvenile courts are sent to training schools. Most of 
them are placed on probation. Two kinds of reports 
are required by many courts : one is a home report 
card which is signed by the parent or guardian of 
the boy or girl showing how they are getting along 
at home ; the other is signed by the teacher showing 
their attendance at school, their conduct and the kind 
of work they are doing. What is probation! What 
is the advantage of placing children on probation? 



132 Our America and Our Constitution 

Why do courts require children who are placed on 
probation to make regular reports to a probation 
officer? 

The greatest business in any community, city, 
state, or nation, is not banking, medicine, law, agri- 
culture, transportation, or merchandising, impor- 
tant as they undoubtedly are, but to see that the boys 
and girls grow up clean and strong physically, get 
a good education, have good American homes, and 
receive proper religious training that they may 
learn to "Render unto Caesar the things that are 
Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." 
How can every boy and every girl help in this work ? 
How can they help other boys and girls who are less 
fortunate than themselves? 



CHAPTER XXI 
HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE 

"All legislative powers herein granted shall be 
vested in a Congress of the United States, which 
shall consist of a Senate and a House of Repre- 
sentatives." — The Constitution. 

Dueixg the summer vacation several of the 
boys at Lincoln school read of a wide-awake 
school in Ohio that has a student council. This body 
exists for the purpose of helping the teacher in every 
effort to improve the school. When the boys returned 
to Lincoln after vacation, they talked the matter 
over with each other and with the teacher, wonder- 
ing if it might be possible to form a simliar council to 
serve their school. The teacher appointed a time to 
meet in a more formal way for the purpose of finding 
out the wish of all those concerned in the matter. It 
was understood that they would adopt the plan if 
most of the pupils and the teacher could agree on the 
way the council could serve and carry on its work. 

At the appointed time, when all were present, one 
of the girls arose and made a motion that Floyd, who 
was a leader, and had the respect of everybody, 
should act as the chairman of the meeting. After 
this motion received a second, she asked for a vote 
on it. When everybody voted "yes" she declared 
133 



134 Our America and Our Constitution 

Floyd elected chairman of the meeting by unanimous 
vote. Suppose only a little more than half of the 
pupils had voted for him, what word should she have 
used instead of " unanimous ' ' ? She then sat down 
and he stepped to the chair, asked for nominations 
for secretary, and one of the pupils was soon elected 
secretary in a similar manner. This done, the meet- 
ing was organized for business. 

The chairman saw to it that each person was per- 
mitted to express his views and vote his wish in an 
orderly manner. The secretary wrote down all the 
important things that happened in the meeting, and 
took particular care to see that every motion that 
carried was recorded in the exact words in which it 
was made. Can you state why this is important? 

One person after another took the floor to ask 
questions on the proposed student council, or to 
differ from another's views, or to suggest a better 
way to assist in improving the school. Finally sev- 
eral of the boys and the teacher prepared a resolu- 
tion that incorporated the best views on the objects 
and aims in the creation of the student council for 
Lincoln, and presented the resolution for adoption. 
Somebody made a motion to adopt it, another sec- 
onded it, and the chairman asked them to vote on 
the question. When nearly all voted for the motion, 
he declared the resolution adopted by majority vote. 



Our America and Our Constitution 135 

This was the same as saying that the majority pres- 
ent willed to have a student council. 

The next question was the method or rules that the 
student should employ to gain the objects for which 
it was created. Again, the teacher and pupils 
suggested, asked questions and debated. Sometimes 
it seemed as though they should have to dismiss the 
meeting, or adjourn, without coming to an agreement 
on the important points. But good sense and patience 
finally won the day, and the fundamental law or con- 
stitution of the Lincoln Student Council was adopted 
with only five votes against it. 

In making the laws for the student council, the 
school citizens at Lincoln, in a simple way, took each 
important step in making the rules or laws for our 
city, state or nation. There seemed to be a need for 
a rule of conduct ; this need was expressed by some 
citizens ; these then, in an organized body, considered 
the necessity, .and the best rule or law to meet the 
need, and finally adopted it as the will of the entire 
body. 

What criticism would have come if only a few had 
met and made the constitution? How many in a 
school are affected by a rule or law? Who is not 
affected? Do you think the five who voted against 
adopting the constitution should have to live accord- 
ing to its rules, and abide by its provisions? Why? 
What condition would likely result if, whenever a 



136 Our America and Our Constitution 

crime is committed, the criminal should be excused 
from punishment just because he did not make the 
law that prescribes his punishment ? 

Suppose we look at another side of this law-mak- 
ing process. We noticed the existence of one per- 
son — the teacher — who worked as one of the group. 
Had you been there, you might have seen many times 
when she would suggest something that should be 
excluded from the law. Her position gave her an 
opportunity to know the troubles of everybody, and 
the probable solution of most of them. Do you think 
she was interested in the success of the new plan to 
a greater or less degree than the pupils! What would 
happen if, instead of making the school better, the 
action of the council would cause the good name and 
reputation of the school to suffer! Do you think 
the community would blame her for any failure in 
the school management, or would they blame the 
pupils? 

Since the community holds those highest in author- 
ity most responsible for the making and enforcing 
of laws, the community will also uphold these per- 
sons in their efforts to make the very best laws, and 
prevent the making of others that are unfair, or 
dangerous. We expect the mayor, or governor, or 
president to send messages, or communicate in some 
other way, and tell those whose duty it is to make our 
laws what is needed; also, if perchance somebody 



Our America and Our Constitution 137 

succeeds in getting a bad bill through a law-making 
body, we give an executive the right to refuse to sign 
it, and report to everybody why he objects to it, or 
vetoes it, and thus protect us. 

It is difficult for all people in a large district to 
meet in one place, and for all to find time to think 
carefully over all questions that need consideration 
in legislation, so we hold elections and choose repre- 
sentatives to make laws for us. 

Township trustees, elected by rural communities, 
have very limited legislative powers, only that 
granted them by the state legislatures. 

The membership of county boards of supervisors 
differs for different counties, and varies from three 
to seven members for a county. While the super- 
visors have greater legislative power for the county 
than the trustees have for the township, the super- 
visors, too, are limited by the laws of the state legis- 
lature. In fact, we call the acts of the trustees only 
rules, instead of laws, and it is customary to refer to 
the legislative acts of the supervisors as orders about 
as often as anything else. 

Until a community has a dense population of 2,000 
people it is known as a town. At 2,000 and until it 
has as much as 15,000 population it is a city of the 
second class. A population of 15,000 or more makes 
it a city of the first class. The council is the legisla- 
tive body for a city or town. A town council usually 



138 Our America and Our Constitution 

consists of five members elected at large. A city 
council, whether of a city of the first or the second 
class, is ordinarily made up of a mayor, one member 
from each ward, and two members at large. Instead 
of calling the legislative acts of a town or city laws, 
we call them ordinances. The city ordinances must 
always be in accordance with the laws passed by the 
state legislature. What legislative body would you 
say exercises the greatest legal control over us, town- 
ship, county, or city? 

Each state has a senate and house of representa- 
tives, jointly called the state legislature, to enact its 
laws. The lieutenant governor is chairman of the 
senate, and the house of representatives chooses its 
chairman from out of its own membership. The 
governor, also, assists in the process of law-making, 
by signing, or placing his veto, on all bills before 
they may become law. 

An additional feature in the legislation for state 
and nation and not found in county, township or 
city, is the work of committees. On account of the 
great number of bills to be considered each term, 
each house divides itself into numerous committees. 
Each of these considers only one kind of bills. One 
will consider the bills presented for the purpose of 
raising money, another the bills on education, and 
still another the bills on public highways. The com- 
mittees study their particular bills, and decide what 



Our America and Our Constitution 139 

bills their house should take time to discuss as a 
whole body. When a person who is not a member 
of the state legislature desires certain legislation, he 
goes to some member and tries to get him to urge its 
passage. If this legislator decides to push the bill, he 
takes the earliest opportunity to have it introduced 
in the house. The chairman of that house refers 
it to the proper committee. If that committee sees 
fit to report it as a measure worthy of consideration, 
it will return to the house with it, and recommend, 
perhaps urge, that the bill be enacted into law. All 
members of that house may then debate the bill, and 
finally vote on it. If it receive the necessary num- 
ber of votes in the house where first introduced, it 
will be taken to the other house, where it must go 
through the same process. If this house also passes 
it then it will be sent to the governor, who will either 
sign it, and declare it a law, or refuse to sign it, and 
return it to the house where it originated with the 
written reasons for not signing. If both houses de- 
cide by a large majority to make it a law in spite of 
the governor's objections, it becomes a law over his 
veto. Do you know the name of your state senator ? 
State representative? Who is governor? 

The process of legislation for the nation is almost 
identical with that of the state. In the City of Wash- 
ington, is located our capitol building provided pri- 
marily for the use of our officers who make, interpret 



140 Our America and Our Constitution 

and enforce the laws. In one room is the United 
States Senate, two from each state. In another is 
the United States House of Representatives, who 
come from the states in proportion to the population 
of each state. These two houses, considered jointly, 
are known as the Congress of the United States, and 
any member of either house is a congressman. How 
many congressmen are there? How many of them 
represent you, in a most direct way? Name them. 

The vice-president of the United States is chair- 
man of the senate, and the house elects one of its own 
members speaker, or chairman. Bills are introduced, 
and referred to committees, and then acted upon by 
both houses and the president, before enacted into 
law. If the president vetoes a bill, he will return it 
to the house in which it originated, with his objec- 
tions. If both houses pass it again by a two-thirds 
vote, it becomes law. If a bill be sent to the presi- 
dent and he does not return it within ten days, Sun- 
days excepted, it shall be a law the same as if he had 
signed it, unless Congress adjourns and prevent its 
return, in which case it shall not be a law. 



CHAPTER XXII 

FINANCIAL POWERS OF THE 
CONSTITUTION 

''The Congress shall have power to lay and col- 
lect taxes, auties, imposts and excises to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defense and gen- 
eral welfare of the United States." — The Constitu- 
tion. 

The colonies operated several years, before the 
Constitution was adopted, nnder the Articles of 
Confederation. These articles were very defective. 
One of the most serious objections was that Congress 
had the authority to borrow money and contract 
debts, but no authority to raise revenue to pay these 
debts. It naturally followed that at the close of the 
Revolutionary War the Colonies were badly involved 
financially. The makers of our Constitution very 
justly and wisely provided for this by the adoption 
of the first paragraph in Article VI, "All debts con- 
tracted and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid 
against the United States under this Constitution as 
under the Confederation." 

Throughout the entire history of the thirteen Col- 
onies, prior to the adoption of the Constitution, tax- 
ation had been a very vital question; "Taxation 
141 



142 Our America and Our Constitution 

without representation is tyranny.' ' For this rea- 
son the delegates to the constitutional convention 
determined that, in so far as possible, the authority 
to levy taxes should rest with the people, or with 
officials who were directly accountable to them. They 
provided, in Section VII, that "All bills for raising 
revenue shall originate in the House of Representa- 
tives; but the Senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills. '' "Why is it better to 
have revenue bills originate in the lower house ? For 
how long is a congressman elected? A senator? 

Under the Constitution, no authority is given to 
place a direct tax on land, houses, and personal prop- 
erty, except in time of war. Thus far in the history 
of our country, Congress has levied such taxes but 
five times. Most of the revenue raised by Congress 
comes through indirect taxes, of which there are two, 
— excises and customs. From the word you may be 
able to determine the character of such taxes. They 
are indirectly paid by the people, in that an indirect 
tax is levied against commodities consumed by indi- 
viduals. Name five articles used by your family, 
upon which an indirect tax is paid. 

Customs are taxes on articles imported from for- 
eign countries. When has such a tax been a leading 
issue in presidential campaigns? An excise, or in- 
ternal revenue tax, is one levied on liquors, tobacco, 
amusements, and certain legal documents. 



Our America and Our Constitution 143 

As the United States has grown, the sources of 
income naturally have greatly increased; the same 
is true of the expenses. The total receipts from all 
taxes in the United States before the world war did 
not exceed one billion dollars. Eeceipts in the year 
just following the close of the war were as follows : 

Income and profit tax $ 2,600,783,903 

Tax on spirits and liquors 483,050,854 

Tax on freight, express, passengers, 

etc 238,839,572 

Tax on tobacco 206,003,092 

Tax on sales by manufacturers, etc.. 82,424,874 

Inheritance tax 82,029,983 

Tax on amusements, club dues, etc.. . 54,992,157 

Miscellaneous 102,025,643 

Total internal revenue $ 3,850,150,078 

Customs 183,428,625 

Postal tax (extra penny on letter) . . . 71,906,000 

Postal revenues 364,333,126 

Miscellaneous 219,860,215 

Total receipts other than from 

the sale of bonds, etc.. $ 4,689,678,044 

Interest on loans to foreign govern- 
ments 322,162,228 

Total $ 5,011,840,272 



144 Our Amerjca and Our Constitution 

For the same year the treasury of the United 
States expended the following: 

For the operation of the executive, 
judicial and legislative depart- 

nents $ 3,230,890,248 

For military and naval operations . . . 11,262,331,772 

Pensions 221,614,781 

Interest on debts 615,867,337 

Foreign bonds purchased 3,477,850,266 

Farm loan bonds purchased 96,662,399 

Indian service 34,593,257 

Panama Canal 12,265,775 

Postal service 362,504,274 



Total expenditures $19,314,580,109 

You will observe that the government spent much 
more that year than it raised from the regular in- 
come. How was this extra money provided? How 
does the United States borrow money? Have you 
ever loaned to the United States? How? 

No officer or department in the United States gov- 
ernment can pay out money unless it has been set 
aside for a particular purpose by an act of Con- 
gress. You have been advised to keep a budget of 
your own expenses for six months. Before Congress 
can set aside money for a new post office building, 
or any specific use, someone must estimate the cost, 



Our America and Our Constitution 145 

determine where the money can be secured, and, in 
fact made a budget. 

"What do we mean when we say that Congress ap- 
propriates money for a certain purpose. How does 
the government expend money in your community? 



CHAPTER XXIII 
PARTY GOVERNMENT AND ORGANIZATION 

"The electors shall meet in their respective states 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, 
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of 
the same state with themselves." — The Constitution. 

Because men do not always agree upon the proper 
solutions for great national problems, certain 
political parties have grown up. The voters express 
their will upon men and upon measures through 
these parties. 

Any political party stands for broad policies of 
government, which, when applied to each current 
question, determines the party attitude toward that 
question. This is the theory of a political party. In 
the normal political situation in the United States, 
there exist two major parties ; thus we have the Re- 
publican and Democratic organizations taking ir- 
regular turns at government. In addition to these 
there are sometimes several minor parties, each built 
upon an issue which is less than the whole issue of 
national government. There have been several par- 
ties which lived for a while only to die for lack of 
support. 

The first major political parties in our national 
life were the Federalist and Anti-Federalist, which 
146 



Our America and Our Constitution 147 

arose soon after the adoption of the Constitution. 
The Federalists believed in a strong national govern- 
ment ; the Anti-Federalists favored strong state gov- 
ernments and a weaker central authority. 

The Federalists soon became known as Whigs, and 
the present Democratic party, not many years after 
constitutional government began in the United 
States, were called Republicans. When, later in our 
history, the name of the Whig party was changed to 
Republican, those on the other side called themselves 
Democratic-Republicans. Finally the hyphen and 
its succeeding syllables were dropped, and our pres- 
ent political party names were fixed. What political 
party is in power in your state? In the nation? 

The New England town meeting was considered 
to be the ideal democratic government. The voters 
of the community gathered, at stated intervals, and 
recorded their votes upon questions of community 
life. But the town meeting is impossible for any 
community larger than a village. 

The party provides machinery which is necessary 
in order that the great problems of government may 
be decided intelligently. Political parties, in their 
platforms, adopt programs which declare an attitude 
toward state or national affairs. They nominate for 
office men who are pledged to put these party pro- 
grams into effect. The voter then simply chooses 
between programs. 



148 Our America and Our Constitution 

There are disadvantages to party government 
which every one admits. There is a tendency under 
the party plan for the many to let a self-appointed 
few attend to the government. The voter must take 
a party's views wholly or not at all. If one party is 
pledged to a high tariff, and the other party is 
pledged to reduce freight rates, the citizen must vote 
for one issue to the exclusion of the other. This is a 
fault that cannot be overcome. Fortunately, per- 
haps, party platforms are not expected to be followed 
slavishly, and they are frequently upset following 
elections, when events prove their decisions to have 
been unwise. Altogether, the advantages of a party 
government greatly outweigh its disadvantages. 

Parties accomplish their purposes through organ- 
izations which are built up from the township in the 
rural districts and the precincts in the city to a cen- 
tral authority known as the national committee. 

Party delegates who act for the party in conven- 
tions and party committeemen who represent the 
party after the conventions, are selected either by 
direct vote in a primary or in a party caucus. A 
primary is a party election confined solely to the 
members of a party. A party caucus is an informal 
meeting of the members of a party living in a given 
locality known generally as a voting precinct. Town- 
ship or precinct committeemen who are selected 
either at a primary or a caucus, usually compose the 



Our America and Our Constitution 149 

county committee. State committeemen who are 
usually selected, one from each congressional dis- 
trict, when a state convention is in session, compose 
the state committee. National committeemen are se- 
lected either by popular vote in a primary or by the 
delegates to a state convention and compose the na- 
tional committee. 

Why not have a representative of the women's 
division of the Republican party and a representa- 
tive of the women's division of the Democratic party 
appear in your school and give you a talk on party 
government and organization? Ask your teacher if 
she will arrange for this. 

On what issue and on what ticket was Thomas Jef- 
ferson elected president? Abraham Lincoln ? Grover 
Cleveland? William McKinley? Warren G. Hard- 
ing? What was the issue in some recent election in 
your state? 



CHAPTER XXIV 

ELECTION MACHINERY 

"The times, places, and manner of holding elec- 
tions for senators and representatives shall be pre- 
scribed in each stale by the legislature thereof."— 
The Constitution. 

Political parties operate within themselves. 
They do not touch the actual machinery of gov- 
ernment except at the point of nomination of candi* 
dates for office. After candidates have been nomi- 
nated, elections are conducted under many safe- 
guards provided by law. 

In cities, the first step in the conduct of an election 
is personal registration of those who expect to vote 
at the election. Therefore, on certain days prior to 
each election, boards of registration are in session at 
the voting places. Do you have personal registra- 
tion in your community? 

Election judges and clerks in each township and 
precinct, upon election day, receive the ballots of the 
electors. All ballots, upon which are printed the 
names of every authorized candidate, are in the cus- 
tody of the election boards. Voters are required to 
retire to a booth, where they may not be seen, to 
mark their ballots. After the voting has ended and 
the polls are closed, the same officials count the bal- 
150 



Our America and Our Constitution 151 

lots, and certify the results to the city clerk, in the 
case of a municipal election, or the county auditor, 
in other cases. In many localities voting machines 
are used. After receiving permission of the elec- 
tion judges, the voter casts his vote by using certain 
levers, which record the votes for each candidate in 
the same manner as an adding machine. Do you use 
voting machines in your community? If so, ask 
your teacher to arrange for the class to make an in- 
spection of them the next time they are being used. 
What are the advantages of voting machines? 

County trustees later canvass the votes cast within 
their political divisions, and certify the results to the 
state. The general assembly conducts a canvass of 
the vote for all state officers and for the state 's dele- 
gates to the national electoral college, which elects 
the president and vice president of the United 
States. 

Where there are primary elections, instead of 
nominations by convention, the primary elections are 
held to determine what person from each political 
party shall be selected to represent that party at the 
•election. Selection of those to be voted upon in pri- 
mary elections is made by petition, sent to the city 
clerk or county auditor, in cases of county or city 
officers; to the secretary of state, when state officers 
are concerned. Do you have primary elections in 
your community? 



152 Our America and Our Constitution 

Voters in primaries must record their party pref- 
erences, and vote only for candidates of one party. 
Having once announced their affiliation with one 
party, they may not change, except by making a 
formal record of that change. But in the general 
election they may vote for candidates of other par- 
ties than their own if they desire. What does it 
mean to scratch your ballot? 

Every citizen privileged to vote should consider it 
his or her patriotic duty to exercise that right in 
every election. Why? A surprisingly large num- 
ber of persons never go to the polls. Usually such 
persons, too thoughtless to consider the needs of the 
community as well as themselves, are the first to 
criticize laws and the administration of laws. 

The machinery of election and of government 
seems very complicated at first glance. The citizen 
himself sometimes seems a long way from the center 
of the actual government. Still it remains true, that 
the real source of all government is the individual. 
Everything that ever has been accomplished for the 
betterment of government and the progress of so- 
ciety as a whole, has been done through the efforts of 
individuals, working together in organizations. The 
citizens of the community choose their party, choose 
their candidates, and decide the issues in the elec- 
tions. Why should every citizen take an active in- 
terest in party affairs f 



Our America and Our Constitution 153 

No matter of public good should be too small to 
receive the attention of every citizen. The govern- 
ment of any community, and the effectiveness with 
which it is carried out, reflects truly the character of 
its citizens. The best citizen is the one whose public 
interest centers around something bigger than his 
own little strip of paving which he wants and extends 
to the interests of the community as a whole, the 
state, the nation, and the whole world. 

Well governed, beautiful communities in which 
the comfort and health of citizens are looked after 
are the result of real citizenship. They are the re- 
sults of the conscientious voting of citizens through- 
out many elections. 

Each citizen shares the responsibility for all con- 
ditions good or bad, which exist within his unit, 
whether it be township, ward, city, state, or nation. 
Over all these conditions he has control through his 
ballot and through his influence. He should inform 
himself thoroughly so that he may vote for the good 
of the community, but first, foremost and above all, 
he should vote. Did your teacher vote at the last 
election? 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE WOMAN CITIZEN 

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States 
or by any state on account of sex." — The Constitu- 
tion. 

When the Constitution was written, the different 
states were left free to fix the qualifications for 
voters. Some of them required that the citizen must 
own a certain amount of property in order to vote. 
Some required a religious test. The Constitution left 
them free to do as they thought best. In time, these 
states abolished their religious requirements, then 
their property requirements. By the time of the 
Civil War, nearly all the states had extended the 
suffrage to all male citizens. 

The fifteenth amendment, which insured the ballot 
to the Negro, made manhood suffrage almost uni- 
versal. Finally, the nineteenth amendment was 
passed. When thirty-six states had ratified it, 
woman had gained the ballot. While some states still 
require the ownership of property or ability to read, 
or the payment of a poll tax as a qualification for 
voting, universal suffrage is the rule in the United 
States. Who was Frances E. Willard? Susan B. 
Anthony? Dr. Anna Howard Shaw? 
154 



Our America and Our Constitution 155 

Women have always interested themselves in laws 
to prevent children from being allowed to work in 
factories and sweatshops. They have helped to se- 
cure shorter hours for girls and women who work in 
factories and other places; they have helped to se- 
cure better school laws. How can women secure still 
better laws on these subjects and others of equal im- 
portance to the community? 

Now that women have the same rights and privi- 
leges as men in the government, they have greater 
responsibility than ever before. The job of "keep- 
ing house" for the city, the township, the county, 
the state, and the nation, is a big one. Women can 
do their share of the house-cleaning and managing of 
these communities. Their experiences in directing 
the household budget fits them admirably to increase 
the efficiency of public business. 

Women, as well as men, should always vote at 
every election. They should join some political party 
so that they may vote in the primaries. They should 
learn all they can about public affairs, about govern- 
ment, and about our country, so they may vote 
wisely. Did your mother vote at the last election! 

To vote right is only the beginning. It is necessary 
to keep watch on the way in which officials do their 
work. Every woman, as well as every man, may do 
much to secure good government by taking active 
interest in the public business. 



156 Our America and Our Constitution 

Woman 's struggle for the privileges of citizenship 
has been even longer and more difficult than that of 
man. Nowadays, girls have the same chance as boys 
to get an education. They can even get a better edu- 
cation than boys in many cases, because the boys 
have to go to work. So women must share responsi- 
bility for government equally with men. Because 
they are closer to children than men, they are even 
better fitted to vote and work for the best interests 
of the children, which are the best interests of the 
whole community. 

James Bryce has called the United States "a gov- 
ernment by public opinion." The more that men 
and women actively assist in forming public opinion, 
the nearer we shall come to good government. Every 
woman, equally with every man, may make sure 
"that government of the people, by the people, and 
for the people shall not perish from the earth.' ' 



CHAPTER XXVI 
STATE CONSTITUTIONS 

"New states may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union." — The Constitution. 

Some of the original thirteen colonies had charters 
from the English king granting them their gov- 
ernments. The idea was that John Cabot had taken 
possession of America in the name of the king, so 
the land belonged to the king. 

The king took some of these charters from the 
colonies. After the revolution, when the colonies 
were free, some of them simply took these charters, 
made a few changes in them and went on governing 
themselves as they had done under the charter. But 
most of them adopted constitutions modeled after 
the Constitution of the United States. When people 
began to form new states in Kentucky, Ohio, and 
other places, the same plan was followed. 

Most of these constitutions contained a "Bill of 
Eights" or statement of the rights to which every 
citizen is entitled. Read the Constitution of your 
state, and make a list of the rights which your con- 
stitution says you have. Can you think of any rights 
which you have that your constitution does not 
name? 

157 



158 Our America and Our Constitution 

Your state constitution provides the way in which 
the citizens of your state shall govern yourselves. 
Eemember the United States Constitution says that 
every state must have a republican form of govern- 
ment. That is, the people must be allowed to elect 
their own officers to make and enforce the laws; no 
state may have a king or a duke or nobles of any 
kind. 

Read Article I, Section 10, of the Constitution of 
the United States: 

"No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
confederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; 
coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make anything but 
gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; 
pass any bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, or 
law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant 
any title of nobility. 

"No state shall, without the consent of the Con- 
gress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or ex- 
ports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of 
all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports 
or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of 
the United States ; and all of such laws shall be sub- 
ject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

"No state shall without the consent of Congress, 
lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war, 
in time of peace, enter into any agreement or com- 



Our America and Our Constitution 159 

pact with another state, or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such 
imminent danger as will not admit of delay. ' ' 

When was your state constitution adopted! Ee- 
cite the preamble. Who gave the powers to your 
state government 1 What limits do the people place 
on their state governments'? What limits does the 
Constitution of the United States place upon it? 
Who gave the powers to the Federal Government? 
Where do all powers of government originate? 
What powers do the people have? 



SUGGESTIONS FOR DRAMATIZATION 
By Esse V. Hathaway 

The greater number of pupils learn through visual- 
ization or through seeing rather than through hear- 
ing. For that reason the following suggestions 
have been offered, to be elaborated or reduced as 
the teacher sees fit. The ordinary school room has 
been kept uppermost in planning for these drama- 
tizations. However, it is possible to develop many 
of them into an elaborate program for a general as- 
sembly or, in some instances, for the community. 
The preparation may bring in a co-ordination of 
English, History, Geography, and experiences of 
older people. In fact, the lines which are to be writ- 
ten by the pupils are to be based on the material de- 
rived from these various sources as well as from the 
various chapters in this textbook. So far as pos- 
sible, the dramatization should be left entirely in the 
hands of the class as it is the purpose of these sug- 
gestions to develop initiative and responsibility in 
the individual pupil through preparation as well as 
to enforce the principles and facts given in the text- 
book. 



161 



162 



Our America and Our Constitution 



PAGEANT I 

Trial of Those- Who-Destroy 

Scene Community Court 

Time Today 

Characters : 

Judge Common-Interests 

Lawyer for the State More-Perfect-Union 

Lawyer for Defense Earn-a-Living 

Jury Public-Opinion 

World-Owes-Me-a-Living 
Me-and-Mine 
Up for Trial. .J Against-the-Government 
*For-the-Gang 
Breaker-of-Laws 



Witnesses for 
the State . . . 



fRepresentatives of the United 

States Government Service 

Chronicler-of- 

Citizens of the 
Community 



Character 
Good-Neighbor 
Good-Citizen, 

Etc. 

fHolder-of-Blind-Alley Job 
Dollars-First 
Created-Equal, Etc. 

*Those who are more loyal to the interests of cap- 
ital or labor than to those of the government. 



Witnesses for 
Defense. . . . 



Our America and Our Constitution 163 

fMay be a representative for each of the bureaus 
spoken of in Paragraph 5, Chapter II. 

It will be seen that other characters may be added 
or supplied under those Up-For-Trial, Witnesses for 
the State, and Witnesses for the Defense. Pupils 
must bear in mind that the Jury's decision rests on 
the strength of the evidence presented by the wit- 
nesses. The Judge must bear in mind that the pen- 
alty must fit the offense in each case. 

PAGEANT II 

An Old Settler 's Day 

After the class, using Chapter III for reference, 
lists the steps usually followed in establishing and 
developing a town or city, let them appoint a com- 
mittee to arrange a program for Old Settler's Day. 
This program is to show how far their own town has 
followed the order of and reasons for development 
which the text book gives. If the pupils taking part 
will each represent one of the first settlers and add 
to his story anecdotes belonging to the early history 
of the community, the program will take on vivid- 
ness and perhaps bring new loyalty to the community 
traditions. 

PAGEANT III 
The City Beautiful 

This is to be an ideal town or city, with the location 
selected by a majority vote of the class. A committee 



164 Our America and Our Constitution 

is then appointed to draw up a plan for the building 
of this town or city, with instructions to consider 
broad, straight streets, the relation of home sections 
to business and industrial sections, and the placing 
of parks and recreational centers. When the plan 
is prepared it is presented to the class who, in the 
meantime, have organized themselves to reproduce 
a mass meeting of citizens called to discuss the plans. 
Criticisms of the plan are presented by those repre- 
senting imaginary people who live outside the town 
but trade and have their markets there; by others 
representing owners of factory and business inter- 
ests ; by those interested in good housing conditions ; 
and by those who think of the general happiness and 
health of the people. A vote is finally cast and the 
plan rejected or accepted according to that vote. 

PAGEANT IV 

Becoming an American Citizen- 
Scene I 

Taking Out the First Papers 
Setting — Office of a Clerk of the Court. 
Time — Now. 
Cast: 

Clerk of the Court. 

Foreigner— Who has difficulty understanding or 
speaking English. 



Our America and Our Constitution 165 

(The action and lines may be a reproduction of 
such a scene in the Clerk's office of the County Court 
House). 

Scene II 
Setting — Same. 
Time — Two years later. 
Cast: 

Clerk of Court. 

First Foreigner — Who now speaks and under- 
stands English. 
Action — Questions and answers based on material in 

Chapters IV and VIII. 

Scene III 
Scene — Town Hall. 

Time — Evening of same day as Scene II. 
Cast: 

Chairman. 

Newly-made Citizen. 

Eepresentative of City Government. 

Eepresentative of State Government. 

Just a Fellow Citizen. 

Audience — Other Fellow Citizens. 

Action — This scene is in form of a reception to the 
new citizen. The chairman in an introductory 
speech gives the purpose of the meeting, and intro- 
duces the new citizen. He answers by a few words 
of appreciation but confesses he is confused by his 
many new responsibilities. The chairman then says 



166 Our America and Our Constitution 

it is their pleasure to advise him and introduces, 
first, the Representative of the State who reviews for 
him the organization of our Federal and State Gov- 
ernment, and his general duties to them. The second 
Representative is then introduced and proceeds to 
instruct him with regard to his duties as a citizen 
of the community. This speech may be varied by 
presenting class members representing local officials 
who explain their duties to him and his to the locality 
which elected them. Just-a-Fellow-Citizen welcomes 
the new citizens to the general social life of the com- 
munity. The Chairman concludes the meeting. 

PAGEANT V 

A World Plea 

Members of the class are chosen to represent 
rulers of the various types of governments spoken of 
in Chapter V. Another chosen to represent World 
Progress calls these rules together to tell them that 
some of them have interfered with her in her efforts 
to bring prosperity to all people. Bach ruler at- 
tempts to clear himself from this blame by present- 
ing the plan of government in his country. They all 
sound so fair that World Progress is puzzled for a 
moment trying to see why, if all they claim is true, 
she has not grown as she should. At last she thinks 
that, after all, these rulers express only one side of 
a nation's life and she determines to call a repre- 



Our America and Our Constitution 167 

sentative of the common people from each of the 
countries to present their side of the matter before 
her and the assembled rulers. In general these 
representatives are loyal to their government but 
in telling of conditions existing among their people> 
they reveal the strength or weakness of the common 
man's chance. In the end World Progress calls for 
a rising vote on the best opportunity offered, and 
while the members of the council are reluctant to 
vote against their own country, the evidence offered 
has been so clear they dare not do otherwise in this 
open council. World Progress concludes by showing 
them that the country offering the common man the 
most ofTers her the most. 

PAGEANT VI 

Declaration of Independence 
Scene I. 

Place — Any Colonial Meeting House. 

Time — Spring of 1776. 

Action — Reproduction of an old time town meet- 
ing in which the troubles with Great Britain are dis- 
cussed. 

Scene II 

Place — Second Continental Congress. 
Time— July 2, 1776. 



168 Our America and Our Constitution 

Action — Richard Henry Lee's resolution of June 
7th is taken up for discussion. Those still hesitat- 
ing to separate from Great Britain question the 
statement in paragraphs one and two of the Declara- 
tion. The committee appointed to draw up this 
Declaration, — Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Liv- 
ingston — may answer those objections by giving the 
list of grievances against the king which follow the 
two opening paragraphs. Convinced that the king is 
wrong but that he should be given further warning, 
the first group still object to hasty action. The com- 
mittee reviews the history of our petitions and our 
various warnings as stated in the two paragraphs 
following the list of grievances. This concludes the 
discussion and the resolutions in the final paragraph 
are voted upon. All the states vote in the affirmative 
except New York. The committee is then advised to 
prepare a final copy of the Declaration, and the meet- 
ing adjourns. 

Scene III 

Place — Same as Scene II. 

Time— July 4, 1776. 

Action — The committee presents the final copy of 
the Declaration and it is signed. Every original 
signer of the Declaration should be represented. 



Our America and Our Constitution 169 

PAGEANT VII 
Bill of Rights 

Again the old Colonial town meeting may be re- 
produced. This time the scene may be in Massachu- 
setts with John Adams presiding. Members of the 
meeting relate incidents where the rights of either 
themselves or neighbors have been infringed upon 
as suggested in the first ten amendments. John 
Adams speaks of the Virginia Bill of Rights as cov- 
ering a number of these grievances, and calls atten- 
tion to the fact that they have already chosen a body 
to draft for them a similar bill. He then reads the 
ten amendments, stopping after each to ask if it is 
acceptable to the one who has sought redress under 
that law. Variety may be given to these responses 
by other members presenting additional instances to 
which the law will apply. 

PAGEANT VIII 

A Nation of Immigrants 

America is standing at the door of immigration 
wondering whether the prosperity of those within 
will be greater or less if she continues her welcome 
to those she sees coming. To end her confusion she 
summons the Old and New Immigration to come be- 
fore her. The two arrive and when she states her 



170 Our America and Our Constitution 

difficulty they suggest that they call representatives 
from the leading nations making up their following. 
Each of these will tell what he has brought from his 
own land to America in the way of history, of art, 
of literature, of ideals, and of government. America 
agrees to this but asks also that they tell what she 
has given them that they did not possess before they 
came. The representatives are summoned and ar- 
range themselves on either side of America to pre- 
sent their cases. In the speeches that follow they 
may tell the sufferings that our restrictions have 
caused them. After all have spoken, America, calls 
to their minds the preamble of the Constitution of 
the United States and urges them to remember that 
her strength depends on the loyalty of every citizen 
in supporting the Union. After they have left she 
stands again at the open door and as she looks out 
at those coming, she still wonders. 

PAGEANT IX 

Health 

Good Health is in her court surrounded by her 
maids: Fresh- Air, Good-Food, Plenty-of-Sleep, 
Work, and Play. An attendant at the left intro- 
duces the children who come for help to Good Health. 
Some of these are, Lack-of-Fresh-Air, Under-Fed, 
Tired-All-the-Time, Can't-See-Well, and Tooth- 



Our America and Our Constitution 171 

Ache. Good Health questions each and as she finds 
out the trouble she calls to the one of her maids who 
cares for this particular child. This maid explains 
what she can do if she is heeded. When the maids 
can't help a messenger at the right leads the child 
ofT to the Man-Who-Can-Help (the Doctor or the 
Dentist). Finally a Captain of the Health Crusade 
comes in and the scene concludes with all enrolling 
to serve under him and thus keep well, instead of 
having to get well. 

PAGEANT X 

Building the Community and Social. Life 

This should be a combined expression of school 
and community life given out of doors in the fall or 
spring. The Community Spirit stands on the steps 
of her altar and received offerings from History, 
Government, Industry, Public Improvement, Educa- 
tion and Eecreation, who enter attended by the lead- 
ers of their various organizations. After they are 
all assembled Community Spirit calls and a group of 
little children come running in. The gifts are theirs, 
for the welfare of Community's future lies in the 
hands of the children, and that future is prosperous 
only so far as the individual of today supplies com- 
mon needs, at the same time that he supplies his own. 



172 Our America and Our Constitution 

PAGEANT XI 
Education 

Scene I 

Opportunity stands guarding a chest containing 
our school funds. Children representing various 
tastes and abilities apply for their inheritance. 
Opportunity asks them what they intend to do with 
it. Some are to be artists, some farmers, some 
scientists, some business men, and some professional 
men. Opportunity tells them she will give them 
their share of the fund in trust, but that twenty 
years from that day they must return and redeem 
that trust with their success in life. They promise 
gaily and leave. 

Scene II 

Twenty years are supposed to have elapsed and 
the children, now men and women, return to tell their 
stories. Some have succeeded, some have not. The 
latter beg Opportunity to help them, but she keeps 
the chest fast locked. 

PAGEANT XII 

Transportation and Communication 

These two may be represented as having an argu- 
ment over which is the more valuable in American 



Our America and Our Constitution 173 

life today. Finally they conclude to settle the argu- 
ment by summoning all those who have served them 
in the past and those who are active today. The 
stage-coach driver, the frontier driver of the prairie 
schooner, the engineer, the sailor, the chauffeur, the 
aviator, the messenger, the mail clerk, the telegraph- 
er, the telephone and wireless operators, each enters 
and tells his tale. Wherever possible each brings 
pictures of his means of transportation or of com- 
munication. In the end Transportation and Com- 
munication decide that they are too closely related 
for either to claim precedence, but congratulate each 
other on being two of the most valuable servants of 
mankind. 

PAGEANT XIII 

The Pillar of Good Citizenship 



1. Music: Patriotic Hymn. 

2. Prologue: (State plan and purpose of the pag- 
eant). 

II 

Scene : 

Narrow platform raised two steps above stage, 
floor at rear with two heaps of stones piled a little 



174 Our America and Our Constitution 

to right and left of center. A sculptor dressed in 
an artist's smock is seated by each heap, chiseling a 
stone between his knees. The Master Builder en- 
ters right attended by two sculptors and takes his 
place near the center or the lower step of the plat- 
form. The sculptors stand on either side on the 
step above him. He begins to speak, telling his 
workmen that it is his plan to erect a pillar of Good 
Citizenship built on their dreams of years. He tells 
the four sculptors each to lift a stone and place it so 
as to mark the corners of the base of the pillar. As 
they stoop to obey, Vision enters from the right and 
calling to him asks him what he does. The Master 
Builder startled, turns. Although puzzled by some- 
thing familiar about her he cannot call her name 
and asks her who she is. Vision tells him, and he 
begs for her help in the task before him. Vision 
says that he can never accomplish that task backed 
by dreams alone but that if he will let her call 
Achievement the two of them will help him. The 
Master Builder gladly consents and Vision calls 
Achievement, who enters from the left and stands at 
left center of stage, opposite Vision on the right 
center. The Master Builder stands between them 
on the lower step. The four sculptors are above him 
on the second step and platform. These positions 
are retained by these characters through the pag- 
eant. Two of the sculptors continue their work of 



Our America and Our Constitution 



175 



chiseling, while the other two place the stones which 
the Master Builder receives and gives to them. 
These stones gradually form a pillar. Vision tells 
Achievement why she has called him and he says 
he will gladly help. He summons the characters in 
the order listed. Each is presented by Achievement 
to the Master Builder, and tells the story of his work, 
and as he tells it has his attendants, who represent 
different phases of his accomplishment, give the 
stone which they are carrying to the Master Builder, 
who expresses his appreciation. As the members of 
each group complete their part, Vision dismisses 
them with praise, and they go out to the left. 



1. Good Government. . , 



May carry one stone of 
Federal Government or 
have sculptors back of 
her carrying a stone for 
each of the ten amend- 
ments representing the 
Bill of Eights. 



Attendants 
State Government. . . . 
Local Government. . . , 



Each of these may in 
turn be attended by 
representatives arising 
from Chapters IV, VII, 
VIII, IX, X, XI, and 
XII. 



176 Our America and Our Constitution 

2. Education: (Based on Chapter XII). 
Attendants: Tolerance and Self Control. 

3. Industry: 
Attendants : 

Capital, followed by Thrift and Spendthrift. 
Labor, followed by the Skilled Workman and 
the Unskilled Workman. 

4. Health: (Based on Chapter IX). 
Attendants: Strong Body and Clear Brain. 

5. Charities: 

Attendants: Public Good, Individual Better- 
ment. 

Ill 

As the last group leaves, Vision asks to call repre- 
sentatives of our country to see what they and those 
of the years past have erected. She then summons 
the Americans of 1776, of 1865, of 1918, and with 
them those who have come into our country from 
other lands. As they are finally assembled, half 
facing the pillar, the flag is unfurled so that it tops 
the pillar. As this happens the audience rises and 
the Star Spangled Banner is sung by both actors 
and audience. 

Note 1. Committees on dramatization should be 
appointed for each of these divisions early in the 
semester. As fast as they complete or draft out 



Our America and Our Constitution 177 

their plans, the committee on costuming, staging, 
and characters should start their work. Music should 
be interposed or accompany softly the whole per- 
formance. In every instance possible each commit- 
tee should have a community member, and the whole 
should be prepared with the idea that this is to be 
a community production. 

Note 2. The settings for this may be anywhere, 
but that setting must be determined before the num- 
ber of characters is selected."" If given out of doors 
in a large space, each group should be increased by 
attendants. If given in-doors these should be re- 
duced so as not to crowd the stage at any time. 

Note 3. In costuming, robes similar to those seen 
in pictures of the prophets of Bible times may be 
used for central figures and leaders of groups. At- 
tendants may be dressed similarly but less elabor- 
ately. Unbleached muslin and cheese-cloth, dyed in 
colors required, are suitable materials. 

Note 4. Uniform sized cardboard boxes, painted 
soft grey, may be used to represent the stones. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 

CHAPTER I— THE COMMUNITY 

Community Civics: R. O. Hughes Allyn & Bacon 

The Community and the Citizen: Arthur W. Dunn 

D. C. Heath & Co. 

CHAPTER II— COMMUNITY NEEDS 

Preparing for Citizenship: Guitteau 

Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

The Land of Pair Play : Geoffrey Parsons 

Charles Scribner 's Sons 

CHAPTER III— TOWNS AND CITIES 

City Government for Young People: Willard . Macmillan & Co. 
American Ideals: Theodore Roosevelt. 

CHAPTER IV— CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND DUTIES 

Essentials of Civil Government: S. E. Porman . 

American Book Co. 

The Making of a Nation: Francis Walker. 

CHAPTER V— NECESSITY FOR GOVERNMENT 

The Government: Frank E. Horack. .Charles Scribner 's Sons 
The Baltimore Course of Study for Elementary Schools. 
Any State Course of Study for Schools. 

CHAPTER VI— DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

The Story of Liberty: James Baldwin. . . .American Book Co. 

Up From Slavery: Booker T. Washington. 

Independence Bell: Anonymous. 

Boys of '76: C. C. Coffin Harpers 

CHAPTER VII— BILL OF RIGHTS 

American Government: Magruder Allyn & Bacon 

Magna Charta. 
Petition of Rights. 

CHAPTER VIII— NATION OF IMMIGRANTS 

Americanization: Talbot Wilson & Company 

Federal Citizenship Text Book: R. F. Crist 

Government Printing Office 

Pioneers of the Rocky Mountains and the West: Charles 

. McMurry Macmillan & Co. 

Iowa Course of Study on America. 

Citizenship in the Grades: State Superintendent of Pub- 
lic Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa. 

Four American Explorers: Kingsley American Book Co. 

179 



180 Our America and Our Constitution 

United States Bureau, Dept. of Labor, Washington, D. C. (Ask 

them to put you on the mailing list.) 
Child Health Organization, 289 Fourth Ave., New York City. 
National Child Labor Committee, 105 E. 22nd St., New York 

City. 
Elizabeth McCormick, Memorial Research Bureau, Chicago, 111. 
What Is Nutrition, Lydia Roberts, Bulletin No. 59, United 

States Children's Bureau, Washington, D. C. 
Bulletin 38, Weighing and Measuring Tests, United States 

Children's Bureau, Washington, D. C. 
Bulletin No. 59, Physicial Growth of School Children, State 

University Extension Department, Iowa City, Iowa. 
Bulletins on physicial defects of children and health of school 

children. 
Doctor Thomas D. Wood, 525 W. 120 St., New York City. 
Public Health Service, Government Printing Office, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

CHAPTER X— BUILDING THE COMMUNITY 

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. For magazines on 

Civic Beauty. 

Town Planning in Practice Charles Scribner's Sons 

Among School Gardens: Louise M. Green. 
Charities Publication Committee, New York. 
Furnishing the Streets in Suburban Communities: Suburban 

Life. 
Publications of the American Civic Association, Washington, 

D. C. 

CHAPTER XI— SOCIAL LIFE 

Education Through Play: Curtis Macmillan Co. 

Play in Education: Joseph Lee Macmillan Co. 

Children's Play and Its Place in Education: Walter Wood 

Duffield & Co. 

The Deer Family: Theodore Roosevelt Macmillan Co. 

Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail: Theodore Roosevelt. 

Century Co. 

Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter: Theodore 

Roosevelt Charles Scribner 's Sons 

CHAPTER XII— EDUCATION 

Bulletins from Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 

State school law or code. 

Northwest Ordinance of 1787. 

Annual School Reports for Cities and States. 

Annual Report of the Federal Board of Vocational Training. 

Financing the Public Schools: Clark. 

Public Education in the United States: Cubberly. 



Our America and Our Constitution 181 

chaptee xiii— transportation and communication 

Under Six Flags : Davis Ginn & Company 

Man and His Markets: Lyde Macmillan Co. 

The Fast Mail: Drysdale W. A. Wilde Co. 

CHAPTEE XIV— WEALTH 

Political Economy: John Stuart Mill. 
Stories of Industry, Volumes I and II: Claw and Claw. . 
Educational Publishing Company 

CHAPTEE XV— VOLUNTAEY OEGANIZATIONS IN INDUS- 
TEY 

Dynamic Americanism: Arnold Hall Bobbs-Merrill Co. 

Woman's National Trade Union League: Eussell Sage Founda- 
tion. 

The Eeal Business of Living: Tuft's Industrial History 
of the United States Coman 

CHAPTEE XVI— THEIFT 

History of Thrift Movement: Strauss J. B. Lippincott 

Stories of Thrift for Young Americans: Myron T. Prich- 
ard Charles Scribner 's Sons 

CHAPTEE XVII— GOVEENMENT PEOMOTION AND PEOTEC- 
TION 

Heroes of Peace: Century Magazine. 
Heroes Who Fight Fire: Jacob Eiis. 

CHAPTEE XVIII— LOCAL GOVEENMENT 

The City, State and the Nation: Nider Macmillan Co. 

Bulletin No. 18: Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 
Our Neighborhood: John F. Smith John C. Winston Co. 

CHAPTEE XIX— CHAEITIES 

How the Other Half Lives: Jacob Eiis. 

How We Are Sheltered: Chamberlain Macmillan Co. 

American Charities: Warner. 

CHAPTEE XX— CEIME AND COEEECTION 

Juvenile Offenders: Morrison. 

Dependents, Defectives, and Delinquents: Henderson. 

CHAPTEE XXI— HOW OUE LAWS AEE MADE 

Makers of the Nation: F. E. Coe American Book Co. 

Actual Government: Hart. 

CHAPTEE XXII— FINANCIAL POWEES OF THE CONSTITU- 
TION 
Annual Eeport of the Secretary of the Treasury. 
Government as a Business. Sparks Eand McNally Co. 



182 Our America and Our Constitution 

CHAPTER XXIII— PARTY GOVERNMENT AND ORGANIZA- 
TION 
Secure campaign text book of each political party. 
Aetual Government: Hart, Vol. IV. 

CHAPTER XXIV— ELECTION MACHINERY 

Electoral Reform: New International Encyclopedia. 
Talks With the County Auditor About Elections. 

CHAPTER XXV— THE WOMAN CITIZEN 
The Woman Citizen: Hollister. 
Woman's Part in Government: Allen Dodd, Mead & Co. 

CHAPTER XXVI— STATE CONSTITUTIONS 

Secure copies of your state constitution from the secretary 

of state. 
Growth of American State Constitutions. 



